The Sky Knight's Apprentice
by BlueTiger321
Summary: Fanmake of the movie. A sorcerer named Aerrow must train a boy named Danny in order to save mankind from Dark Ace and Master Cyclonis, but all Danny cares about is trying to get a girl named June to like him.
1. Prologue: The Prophecy

Prologue: The Prophecy

BlueTiger321: Hello everyone, and thank you for selecting my story! I finally have found the time to begin work on this, which, as some of you have read in my Upcoming Stories, is a cartoon crossover of The Sorcerer's Apprentice. Even though I've only gotten one comment on whom to choose for the pairing in this story, I thought about it and realized that there's one part that would make sense if June was put into the cast. So, she will be Becky in this story. Now for the legal parts: The Sorcerer's Apprentice is property of Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films, and all characters cast in this story are property of their respectful owners. So get ready for some fantastic action!

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><p>It was the year 740 A.D. in Great Britain. During this time, only a select few were chosen to wield the sacred art of sorcery. While some would use their gifts for the good of mankind, others would use it for committing an unspeakable evil. These two factions were on opposing sides; each one hoping to outdo the other.<p>

The narrator of the story begins to speak as two mysterious figures ride through the night on horses while they each carried a torch in their hands. _"The war between sorcerers was fought in the shadows of history,"_ he said, _"and the fate of mankind rested with the just and powerful Merlin."_

An image then flashed to show a picture of an old man dressed in a long blue robe with a matching pointed hat. Blue shoes sat neatly on his feet while a small pair of glasses was situated on his nose. A long white beard stretched down from his chin and ended on the floor, and a white moustache complemented his wise visage. This man was the legendary sorcerer Merlin.

The narrator continued by saying, _"He taught his secrets to three trusted apprentices: Aerrow, Piper, and Dark Ace."_

As the narrator said each of the apprentice's names, an image of each of them came into view. Aerrow was a man in his mid-twenties with unruly red hair and green eyes and was clothed in a red and blue suit complete with brown gloves with black fingers and brown boots. Pieces of silver armour covered various parts of his body while a silver plate of a hawk spreading its wings was stationed on his back between two daggers. The left shoulder plate had the same insignia painted in blue.

Piper was a woman the same age as Aerrow with chocolate brown skin and midnight blue hair held up by a yellow hair band. Her amber-coloured eyes matched the details on her blue and yellow dress while long blue gloves stretched on her arms and only covered her middle and ring fingers, brown boots situated on her feet, the same metal plate as Aerrow's on her back, and a blue choker on her neck that had a light blue crystal dangling in the middle.

Dark Ace was a man slightly older than the other apprentices, having black hair and red eyes, and clothed in a red and dark green suit with various pieces of armour around his body. His chest plate had a red, menacing raven painted on the front, and his head was covered with a metal headpiece that only covered his forehead and the sides of his face.

The narrator then said, _"He should have only trusted two."_

The mysterious figures finally arrive at a gigantic castle, their horses letting out cries that echoed in the night. They soon stopped to see a horrific sight. All around them were the bodies of guards strewn across the ground, lying dead with swords and spears impaled in their torsos. The two figures were then revealed to be Aerrow and Piper, and they both gasped upon seeing their comrades' deaths.

The narrator said, _"Piper and Aerrow witnessed the savagery of a sorcerer beyond evil."_ As he spoke, the scene switched to a group of soldiers rushing up a stone staircase with their weapons held high above their heads. Just as they were about to reach the doorway, a wave of fire blazed out and incinerated their bodies. The soldiers all laid down dead after their bodies were severely burned. The flames subsided to reveal a woman controlling them dressed in a dark red cloak with a silver plate on her chest having the same raven as Dark Ace, short black hair, purple eyes and a mole underneath her left eye. The narrator continued by saying the woman's name, _"Master Cyclonis, Merlin's most deadly enemy."_

Cyclonis slowly walked down the steps, bearing a psychotic look on her face while she approached Merlin, who was hidden behind the stone pillar in hopes of catching the woman off guard. The sorcerer then concentrated as he cast a spell. He brought his fingers to his head just as he opened his eyes wide. Cyclonis was then surprised when the candelabras on each side twisted around her wrists and trapped her in place. The evil sorceress was already taking action by casting her own spell, and she created a small spark on the candelabras to burn away the metal.

Merlin then grabbed a sword from off the wall and charged at Cyclonis while she was taking the time to free herself, but the woman had managed to burn away the candelabras and used them to deflect the blade.

As Merlin and Cyclonis continued their battle, Aerrow and Piper walked down a hallway where more slain soldiers lied on the floor. The man drew both daggers from his back and ignited them, casting the blades in a blue light. Piper held out a metal staff and extended it. Both of them were ready to face whatever Cyclonis would throw at them, and they each knew they had the other for support. What they couldn't fathom was why their other friend was absent.

Merlin and Cyclonis were still locked in their battle. The sounds of metal clanging against metal could be heard as the sword was blocked by the candelabras. Eventually, Merlin gained the upper hand by pushing his enemy into a wall where he followed up by holding the blade close to her neck. But Merlin wasn't finished, and so he quickly cast a spell to make Cyclonis's arms meld into the stone wall to prevent her from trying to escape.

"We are but servants," said Merlin, keeping his sword close to Cyclonis.

All of a sudden, a door opened and out walked Dark Ace holding a cane with a red crystal on the tip. "Merlin," he said casually.

"Dark Ace!" cried the sorcerer. Merlin could only watch as his apprentice raised his cane and unleashed a wave of energy that unknowingly released Cyclonis from the wall. "You betray me?" The sorcerer then let out a cry in agony as Cyclonis had thrust a dagger into his stomach.

Cyclonis looked devilishly at Merlin and said, "I am no one's servant." She proceeded by pushing the sorcerer away and let him fall to the floor. Cyclonis turned to her new follower and said, "Well done. Now get the spell."

"_And so it was,"_ said the narrator. _"Master Cyclonis gained sorcery's most dangerous spell known as 'The Rising,' giving Cyclonis the power to raise an army of the dead and enslave mankind."_

Dark Ace did as his master commanded and so he walked over to a large book sitting by itself on a pedestal. The man turned the pages until he found the one needed. On it was an illustration of a sorcerer casting a spell towards the ground that brought up a spirit. This was the incantation for The Rising.

Dark Ace then tore out the page from the book and walked off just before another door burst open on the other side of the room. Aerrow rushed inside but was too late as Dark Ace had already jumped out a window to escape. He looked around and there he was face-to-face against Master Cyclonis. The evil sorceress thrust out her hands and released a wave of energy that hit Aerrow in the chest and knocked him to the floor. As the man was about to stand up, Cyclonis began to cast another spell as violet energy formed in her hands.

Before Cyclonis could fire her spell, Piper came into the room and unleashed a spell blast to stun the sorceress. Aerrow could only watch bewildered to see his friend battle against Merlin's enemy. Piper then concentrated all her focus into a spell where she drew her hands to her face in a continuous motion. Aerrow gasped as he recognized this spell, and Cyclonis looked on in horror as she was paralyzed and could do nothing to stop it. An ethereal image of Cyclonis then rushed out of her and she screamed as she was absorbed into Piper. This, in turn, caused Cyclonis's lifeless body to slump to the floor once the spell was complete.

"_Piper sacrificed herself for Aerrow by drawing Cyclonis's soul into her own body," _said the narrator. Aerrow ran over to Piper to help her, but he saw it was too late as the woman clutched her throat as it began to pulse and her eyes changed to purple. _"But Cyclonis began to kill her from the inside."_

Aerrow knew there was only one thing he could do, and he also knew that it would be the most painful decision he ever had to make. He brought up a black nesting doll where he opened it up and released a bright blue light. The result was Piper being sucked into the doll and trapped upon Aerrow closing it.

"_To save Piper's life and to capture Cyclonis,"_ said the narrator, _"Aerrow trapped them both in the Grimhold, an inescapable prison."_

Aerrow sadly watched as the Grimhold changed and showed an image of Piper on one of its sides. On the other side of the doll was an image of Cyclonis.

The narrator continued by saying, _"Over time, Aerrow fought many sorcerers who tried to free Cyclonis, trapping them in layer upon layer of the doll._" The Grimhold then showed an image of a young girl, and then it showed an image of an Asian man as it got bigger. _"Eventually, he captured Dark Ace as well."_

Aerrow knelt by Merlin on the floor, holding the spot where Cyclonis stabbed him in the stomach. The man listened intently to hear what his master had to say.

"_As Merlin lay dying,"_ said the narrator, _"he gave Aerrow his dragon ring, saying it would guide him to the child who would one day grow to be Merlin's successor: the Prime Merlinean."_

The sorcerer placed in Aerrow's hand a small figurine of a silver dragon. Aerrow knew what must be done, and he would see to it that his master's wished would be fulfilled.

Merlin looked into Aerrow's eyes and said with his last breath, "The Prime Merlinean is the only one... who can kill Master Cyclonis." The sorcerer then closed his eyes and left the world with the knowledge he gave his apprentice.

"_Aerrow would search for centuries,"_ said the narrator.

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><p>Many years later, Aerrow walked through the plains of Kenya, hoping to find the Prime Merlinean in order to fulfill the prophecy and to complete the duty bestowed upon him by Merlin. The sorcerer met with a boy named Lil' D (<em>Class of 3000<em>) and showed him the dragon. The boy gave the figurine an odd look, and Aerrow knew that he was not the one. Still, he would not give up and would take as long as needed since he would never age from the spell Merlin placed on him.

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><p>Aerrow's quest eventually led him to India where a boy named Sanjay (<em>Fairy OddParents<em>) was living. Aerrow bowed in respect to the boy and then presented to him the dragon. Sanjay just looked at it like it was nothing special, and so the man would have to continue his search.

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><p>Aerrow returned to Great Britain and was currently in a large castle, hoping this would be where the Prime Merlinean lives. The sorcerer showed the dragon to a boy named Lance Penn (<em>Dragon Booster<em>). The figure still did not respond to the boy, so Aerrow took it back and tussled the boy's hair before leaving the castle.

The narrator finishes by saying, _"And never, it is said, will Aerrow waver from his quest, for mankind will never be safe until Cyclonis is destroyed by the Prime Merlinean."_

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><p>BlueTiger321: So, there's the prologue. I hope you're all eagerly waiting to see what happens next. So, in the first chapter, we'll be greeted to the other main characters of this story and you'll get to see it progress from there. So, until next time, please be sure to read and review!<p> 


	2. Chapter 1: A Fateful Encounter

Chapter 1: A Fateful Encounter

BlueTiger321: Okay, so now it's on to the first chapter! Before I begin, I'd like to comment about JusSonic doing his own fanmake of the movie. Man, you are AWESOME! And I absolutely mean that, because he's a fantastic writer! Also, the lyrics for the song used in this chapter are credit to LyricsFreak, but I should point out that this is how the song was sung in the movie so the lyrics aren't exactly as the song is supposed to be really sung. So, anyway, enjoy!

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><p>The year is now 2001 A.D. in New York City, and a ten year old boy had just woken up to the sound of his Buzz Lightyear alarm clock. The current time was seven a.m. The continuous buzzing from the clock was finally shut off when the boy hit the switch.<p>

The boy revealed himself to have blue eyes and black hair spiked forward, and his name was Danny Fenton. Danny turned his head to see a small green dog lying on the bed a few inches away from him. The boy greeted his dog a good morning by saying, "Hey Cujo, how did you get up here?"

A call from Danny's mother named Maddie could be heard from downstairs. "Danny," she said. "Field trip today. Don't forget to wear clean underwear."

Cujo groaned in response and then began to playfully chew on Danny's nose. The boy gave a slight smirk to his dog and said, "She means me, not you."

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><p><strong>BlueTiger321 presents...<strong>

New York City spanned across the landscape with all its iconic landmarks and buildings dotting the scenery. To everyone it would be just like any other day. For Danny, he knew this was his chance to finally get the attention of a girl he liked, and he figured it wouldn't be better than to do it on his birthday.

As Danny went with his class to the spot for the field trip, he suddenly had the song _The Middle_ by Jimmy Eat World going through his head.

_Hey, don't write yourself off yet_

_It's only in your head you feel left out or looked down on_

**A BlueTiger321 fanfiction...**

All the kids of Danny's class were laughing and enjoying themselves on the bus ride to the field trip, but Danny was busy with a plan. Dressed in his white T-shirt with red trim and a red oval in the centre, blue jeans and red and white tennis shoes, he was drawing a picture on the bus window with a black marker. He looked so intent on his creation like an artist creating a masterpiece.

_Just try your best, try everything you can_

_You know you're doing better on your own, so don't buy in_

From the other side of the bus, it could be seen that Danny was drawing a picture of King Kong battling airplanes that were opening fire on him. What was strange about it was there was a huge gap in between Kong's body.

**Sam Vincent as Aerrow and Dark Ace**

Meanwhile, a nine year old Asian girl was sitting elsewhere on the bus with her friends and laughing at what one of them just told her. The girl was adorable with her black hair that had a single white strand on the left side and her brown eyes and freckles. She was clothed in a green T-shirt that had a red stripe going down the centre, blue jeans and brown shoes. On her right wrist was a brown bracelet that had a purple gem in the middle. This girl was named Juniper Lee, but she was most often referred to as June.

_Live right now_

_You're just being yourself_

A husky boy named Bobby Hill (_King of the Hill_) was looking at what Danny was drawing on the window and gave him a dubious look. "You're not supposed to be doing that, Danny," he warned.

Danny ignored the warning from his classmate. Instead he smiled, put down his marker and said, "Now!"

_It doesn't matter if it's good enough _

_For someone else_

The boy stepped back and saw his drawing was around the Empire State Building. From a distance it actually looked like King Kong was climbing the famous skyscraper and attacking airplanes.

Suddenly, June said, "Danny." The boy turned around with an eager face, hoping to hear the correct response. "That's cool."

Danny smiled at what the girl said to him; his plan had worked. Bobby, meanwhile, gave the boy a sarcastic thumb up for his crazy scheme.

_It just takes some time_

_Little girl you're in the middle of the ride_

_Everything, everything will be just fine_

_Everything, everything will be all right, all right_

**THE SKY KNIGHT'S APPRENTICE**

**David Kaufman as Danny Fenton**

The class had finally arrived to the spot. All the children were seated on a step in front of their teacher named Mrs. Krabappel as she gave her students a lecture. She said, "...which means that before Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty were built..." She then pointed to the famous statue sitting out by the ocean.

Danny held a small, folded piece of paper in his hands while his teacher was still talking. He then handed it to the classmate next to him and hoped it would head for the one meant to read it. "Pass it to June," he whispered.

_Hey, don't write yourself off yet_

The other kids did as they were asked and passed the note down to the next one, some of them whispering, "Pass it on" or "Pass it to June."

**Lara Jill Miller as Juniper "June" Lee**

_It's only in your head you feel left out or looked down on_

The note finally reached June. From what she gathered from all the whispering she heard, she figured it was meant for her. She carefully unfolded the paper and looked to see the writing on it. Written in black ink were the words _Check One: I would like to be DANNY'S: friend or girlfriend._ An empty checkbox was next to "friend" and "girlfriend."

_Just do your best (just do your best)_

_Do everything you can (do everything you can)_

**Chiara Zanni as Piper**

June leaned out from her fellow classmates with a quizzical look. There was Danny also leaning out, and he gave the girl a smile. Deep down inside, he was hoping she would pick the right choice because he always had these feelings for her.

**Rickey D'Shon Collins as Tucker Foley**

_And don't you worry what their bitter hearts (bitter hearts) _

_Are gonna say_

Bobby leaned out ahead of Danny to see what she was going to do, but June just sat there and gave a smile back. In her own mind, she already made her decision of what she was going to check off, and she hoped Danny would feel the same way about her. June then took up her pen and checked off the box next to her choice.

**Danny Cooksey as Jack Spicer**

_It just takes some time_

_Little girl you're in the middle of the ride_

Mrs. Krabappel was just about finished with her lecture when she said, "Let's go. Get on the ferry. Get your bags. Stay close. Here we go."

_Everything, everything will be just fine_

_Everything, everything will be all right_

**Lenore Zann as Master Cyclonis**

June folded up the note and left it on the ledge of the staircase just as she and all the other classmates walked off to continue their field trip. Danny looked expectantly at the note, so he waited until everyone else walked away and then he walked over to grab it. Before he could, however, a gust of wind blew past him and carried away the note.

**Casting by BlueTiger321**

Danny's face was set into dismay when he saw the note slip from his grasp. He had to go after it; he just had to see June's decision. The boy went up the steps to grab the note, but then a cyclist came out of nowhere and unknowingly picked up the paper with his bike's rear tire.

"Hey, stop!" cried Danny. But the cyclist was too far ahead to hear it.

The boy ran after the man, desperately wanting to get the note back. Danny was so focused that he did his best to get out of the way of people as he came into an intersection. Drivers honked the horns of their cars as they quickly halted to avoid hitting the boy.

**Editing by BlueTiger321**

The cyclist eventually stopped and noticed the paper stuck to his bike's tire, so he grabbed it and tossed it on the ground thinking it was scrap. The note was eventually picked up mistakenly by a dog being walked by a woman. The pair walked away while Danny still chased after the note.

Danny went in between two people while saying, "Excuse me." He then saw the woman grabbing the note off her dog's paw. Danny went wide eyed and shouted. "No! No, lady, don't!"

It was effortless as the woman was wearing headphones and couldn't hear the boy's shouts. She instead threw away the note nonchalantly, causing Danny to once again go after it.

**Executive Produced by BlueTiger321**

The boy ran down an alleyway after the note was caught in another gust of wind. No matter what, he told himself, he knew this would be worth it just to see June's answer to his question, even if it meant getting scolded from his teacher for breaking away from the class. Danny stopped when he saw a small shop sitting on the street, and outside was a black 1935 Rolls Royce Phantom parked on the side. The shop was inside a green three-story house and had the words _Arcana Cabana_ in gold lettering above the door. Danny didn't know why, but he somehow got the feeling that this was a place he should never enter.

**Produced by BlueTiger321**

Everything changed in an instant when Danny saw his note was flapping on the edge of the building's mail slot. He rushed up the steps to grab it with an outstretched hand, but the note was blown into the building by the wind. Danny did not want to do this but he saw no other option – going into the building.

**Screenplay by BlueTiger321**

He looked inside the window and saw no one was there, and then he slowly opened the door and walked into the building.

**Directed by BlueTiger321**

When Danny walked into the store, he saw that it was just like any other antique shop. There was an assortment of different objects lying around: stuffed animals, glass ornaments, vases, the skulls of humans and animals, and other things. Some of the antiques in the store were so spine-chilling that Danny just wanted to conclude his business and get out as quickly as possible. But then Danny's curiosity got the better of him as he saw an old oil lamp sitting by itself on a desk.

"No way," he said, and proceeded to rub the lamp to see if a genie would come out. Nothing happened. "Aw, this is nothing like in _Aladdin_. Why couldn't Genie pop out and do some cool magical stuff?"

Danny then picked up the lamp to get a closer look but then made a slight yelp as the lamp had been used to weigh down the brass bottle and cups on the plate. Removing the lamp had caused the objects to slide off the table. This made the boy really scared as he walked backwards and bumped into a small table, knocking over the skull lying on top of it. Danny yelped once again as it left him disoriented and he was about to knock over a large urn. The boy turned around in surprise when he regained his bearings and saw that the urn wasn't broken; it was being held up by a man who had arrived in time to prevent any further damage. Danny looked at the man's red hair and green eyes, not knowing this was the sorcerer Aerrow.

The man decided to tell the boy the story behind this urn. He coolly looked at Danny and said, "The second emperor of the Han dynasty locked his least-favourite wife in this urn for ten years to the day. They say you open it up, the same thing will happen to you."

Danny was somewhat frightened by the story but he knew it couldn't be real. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm looking for this note. Have you seen it? It kind of just blew into your store."

"A note?" said Aerrow after repositioning the urn.

"It blew into your store. It was just a..."

"Coincidence." Aerrow knew what this meant, so he finished the sentence for the boy.

"Yeah, it was just a coincidence."

Aerrow turned to face Danny. To him he knew this was a sign about his quest, and so he was going to see if this boy was the one. He walked past the boy and said, "I have something I'd like to show you, Danny."

Danny was a bit shocked by the man's response. "How'd you know my name was Danny?" he asked.

"'Cause I can read minds!" Aerrow said sternly. Danny was taken aback by it and thought it was real. The man then said, "It's on your backpack."

Danny then remembered that he was carrying his backpack and looked around for the spot for his name to see if this man was telling the truth. He ended up going around in circles like a dog chasing its own tail.

Aerrow walked off to a desk and said, "Come over here."

The boy stopped what he was doing and slowly approached the stranger. He walked up just as Aerrow went behind a counter and placed a black box on its surface. The box was opened by the shop owner to reveal a small figurine of a silver dragon. Danny was surprised to see something like that being contained in a box, but was more confused by why this man would show it to him. Aerrow then took out the dragon and let it rest in him palm.

"This is very special," said the man, "and if it likes you, you can keep it."

Danny was tempted to take up that offer, but then he realized that there were more important matters. "I better not," he said. "My teacher said I couldn't be gone for long. She knows I'm here."

"You're a bad liar, Danny," replied Aerrow, giving the boy a smirk. "That's good."

Danny didn't know how this man knew he was lying, and all that mattered to him was finding the note and getting out of here. He headed for the exit, but Aerrow already beat him to it. Without moving an inch, the sorcerer forced the doors closed with a spell.

"Oh, boy," Danny said worriedly. He then walked back to the man, thinking there was no harm in going along with this game and took the dragon figurine from his hand.

Aerrow watched expectantly for something to happen and was amazed at the sight. The dragon in Danny's hand came to life and shook its body. The boy had a stunned face as he saw the dragon crawled over his hand, rested on his index finger and wrapped its tail around the appendage. The dragon then spanned the wings on its back to reveal a round emerald. Danny couldn't believe what just happened and was left speechless while he inspected the newly-formed ring on his hand.

The man then breathed a sigh of relief as his quest was now over. He finally found the Prime Merlinean and now would be the time to instruct this boy in the sacred art.

"No way," said Danny, thinking this was an unbelievable moment.

Aerrow walked around the counter and said, "I have been searching a very long time." He knelt down until his eyes were level with the boy. "Magically, here you are. That ring on your finger means something, Danny. It means you're going to be a very important sorcerer one day. And your first lesson begins right now with your very own Encantus." The sorcerer brought up his hand to show a similar ring on his finger, except it had a round sapphire in the middle. "Do not move; do not touch anything."

With his goal set, Aerrow walked down a spiral staircase into the basement of his store. Once there he then walked over to the side of the staircase's brick wall and moved a box. Concentrating hard, he cast a spell over the wall by moving his hands, causing the dust over the bricks to be swept away.

Danny, meanwhile, still couldn't believe everything that happened in the last few minutes. All he wanted was to get the note and now a strange man was giving him something he never expected. He looked at the ring on his finger, awing at its magnificence. What he didn't know was that every time he moved the ring there was a thudding noise coming from behind a wall.

The boy eventually heard the noise and moved his hand. The result made a pile of boxes topple over and the wall began to pulse. Danny moved his hands a few more times, still hearing the same thud coming from the wall. Eventually, the wooden boards began to fracture from the force. Danny's curiosity got him again and compelled him to keep doing whatever it was he was doing. With a mighty swing of his hand, Danny made the wall burst open and let out something resting behind it. The object rolled to his feet, and he saw it was a nesting doll with an image of a man painted on one of its sides.

Aerrow was still in the basement, pushing the bricks away like they were a door. Inside was an assortment of cobwebs along with a large book. He grabbed the book, unaware of what his new apprentice was doing.

Danny picked up the nesting doll, trying to figure out why it came out all of a sudden. He looked at the image on its side and thought it was kind of scary at how it looked so lifelike. All of a sudden, the doll rippled like water and its midsection was emitting a strange glow. Danny was so shocked that he dropped the doll to the floor and let it open.

What Danny saw next made him feel like his heart skipped a beat. From out of the doll crawled thousands of cockroaches. The insects all focused on each other and began to form up in front of the boy.

"No way," said Danny.

The roaches continued to pile on each other, making their mass get bigger and bigger. The mass was so large that it was appearing to be the size of a person. Just then, the insects changed shape and a human foot walked out from them. Eventually, all the insects changed to show the same person that was painted on the doll taken form. Danny was awestruck to see the last of the roaches crawl into the man's mouth, and there standing in front of him was Dark Ace.

The evil sorcerer took in a deep breath, finally glad to be free from the Grimhold. He then looked directly at Danny to get some answers. "When am I?" he asked.

Danny whimpered in front of the man, completely terrified at what he witnessed. "New York City," he replied.

Dark Ace was annoyed by the response. "Not where," he said. "The _year_." He then cast an angry glance at Danny. "You are wasting my time." Bringing up his cane, he made the red crystal on its end glow.

Suddenly, a blast of energy caught Dark Ace before he could do anything to the boy. He shouted as the blast sent him to the glass ceiling where he was suspended; a few shards of glass ending up breaking and landed on the floor.

Danny quickly looked to see Aerrow with his right hand raised to intercept Dark Ace while carrying the book in his other hand. Seeing Dark Ace, Aerrow knew this was bad since Danny still hadn't learned anything yet, so now he would have to double his efforts to train his apprentice.

"What happened to 'don't touch anything'?" Aerrow scolded Danny.

"That's not very sporting of you, Aerrow," said Dark Ace.

"Be quiet." Aerrow turned back to Danny. "It's not you. He's been like this for a thousand years. I'll explain later." As Aerrow was talking, Dark Ace reached for his cane next to him and struggled over Aerrow's spell. "I need the Grimhold. Where's that doll?"

Danny eagerly pointed to the doll by his feet. Before Aerrow could reach for it, Dark Ace sent out a blast that knocked Aerrow into a wall and destroying some of the antiques. With the spell no longer in effect, Dark Ace fell from the ceiling and crashed onto a table. Danny quickly backed away in time to avoid getting hit.

The two sorcerers recovered from their falls, but Dark Ace attacked first. He swung his cane and made a cabinet collide into Aerrow, and then he reached down for the Grimhold. The cabinet then splintered into pieces as Aerrow released himself. He then made a beeline for his enemy and tackled into him, sending them both to the floor. Danny, meanwhile, tried to hide away so as not to get hurt. The boy watched as Dark Ace swung his cane down at Aerrow who then caught it with his hands and pushed back with all his might. In the process, the Grimhold got pushed over to Danny. The two men leaned over the counter and made glass shatter. Danny had to bring up his arms to protect himself from the stray shards.

Dark Ace then made the crystal on his cane glow. Aerrow brought it away from his face just as it released a pulse of red energy and hit a banister on the second floor, setting it ablaze. Now the two sorcerers were exchanging blows with their fists to see if they had the strength and stamina to defeat the other.

Danny was shaking from the battle that ensued. He picked up the Grimhold and looked at the next painting, which was of an Asian man.

Aerrow and Dark Ace still continued their fight until Dark Ace swung his staff into Aerrow's back, making him cry in pain. The two sorcerers were locked on each other. Soon, the crystal on Dark Ace's cane and the ring on Aerrow's finger both started to glow. They then released their magical blasts that sent both of them away from each other.

Dark Ace was already up and used his cane to make a rapier float in midair, making its blade shimmer in the light. "I'll have that doll!" he said.

The sword was shot through the air. Aerrow barely dodged the assault and then saw the blade spinning. Thinking fast, the sorcerer pulled off the horn from a unicorn's skull and deflected each blow from Dark Ace who was using his cane like a real sword. Each motion from Dark Ace mimicked the action on the rapier. Aerrow then ducked and blocked each slash until Dark Ace knocked away the horn. Aerrow was left defenceless as he was lying on the stairs in front of his enemy. Dark Ace then thrust his cane outward and made the sword do the same. Aerrow used his ingenuity again to grab a mask hanging from the wall and blocked the sword with it as the blade was stuck in an eye slit, just barely missing his face and made him sigh in relief.

Aerrow lifted the mask and forced Dark Ace's cane to move along with the rapier. The evil sorcerer was then knocked on the head by his cane and fell under his own weight. As he went down, he knocked over the urn standing next to him. The vibrations caused a jar near Danny to fall down and shatter, sending water onto the crotch area of his jeans. The boy yelped and stood up with the Grimhold still in his possession.

Aerrow then brought his hands together to create a spell. Blue lightning formed from his fingertips until they formed into a ball. Dark Ace stood up after he was knocked down just as Aerrow was finished with his spell. The ball of lightning then shot out from his hands. Dark Ace had barely dodged in time as the ball crashed into the wall and created flames on the spot.

Now it was Dark Ace's turn. He extended his hand and made a part of the flame form around his fingertips where he shot them outward towards Aerrow. The sorcerer dodged the attack, but his enemy still had the flames burning and continued his assault, setting everything he hit ablaze.

The fight was now getting too intense for Danny, so he crawled past Dark Ace and headed for the door.

Dark Ace smiled as he watched the flames burn, hoping that Aerrow was caught in them. Danny looked to see the flames rising and engulfing the store, but he was paralyzed with fear when he saw Dark Ace turn to him and noticed that he had the Grimhold.

Holding up a burning finger, Dark Ace said, "I want that doll."

The boy could do nothing but gasp and expect the worst. Then, Aerrow leapt from out of the flames and tackled Dark Ace to the floor. Danny tried to crawl away from them, but the Cyclonian grabbed Danny's leg and pulled him back. No one even noticed that the lid of the urn was now removed. Dark Ace continued to pull Danny closer to him as the flames kept burning. The man eventually opened Danny's backpack and made some papers get sucked into the urn.

"Leave, Danny! Leave now!" shouted Aerrow. He had to protect this boy no matter what.

Aerrow grabbed Dark Ace's arm and pulled it towards the urn. As soon as their hands made contact with the object, their bodies then turned to ash as they were now being sucked inside. The urn closed as soon as the sorcerers were trapped within it, and Danny screamed as he stood up and ran for the exit still carrying the Grimhold.

Danny ran out into the street, horrified after what he experienced. He looked down and saw the doll in his arms. In an act of terror, he threw it away without watching where it landed. His head was now being filled with a scolding voice he recognized.

"Daniel Fenton!" shouted Mrs. Krabappel. "Don't ever leave your—"

"There's these crazy wizard guys in there! They're made of roaches!" Danny said as he pointed to the store. He didn't know how his teacher and classmates found him, but right now it wasn't important.

Mrs. Krabappel rolled her eyes at Danny's excuse and headed for the shop. "No! Don't go in there!" Danny shouted. "The store's on fire! Don't go in! Those guys are—" The teacher opened the door and Danny looked inside. To his disbelief, he saw the store was just like it was when he first entered like nothing had ever happened. What they didn't know was that Aerrow cast a spell over his store to prevent humans from seeing the existence of magic should the need arise. Danny finished his plea by saying, "—crazy."

The boy then looked at the urn where the two men were sucked inside. He was starting to wonder if it really did happen.

"You really shouldn't tell stories," said Mrs. Krabappel, not believing her student's testimony. "Let's go."

As soon as they both got outside the store, a kid named Dash Baxter looked at Danny and shouted, "Ew! He peed his pants!" All the other kids then began to laugh at Danny.

Danny looked down at his pants and remembered how it happened. "A jar broke," he replied. "It's just water! There was a fire!"

The kids continued to laugh and thought he was crazy. Now they would brand him as a complete loser. June just looked up at Danny, not laughing but giving him a displeased look.

"Yeah, Fenton had a leak," said a boy named Kwan.

"He's such a geek," said Dash.

Danny looked down in shame. Not only did he endure a traumatic experience, but now his class thought he was a liar and a coward, and he thought the girl he really liked would hate him forever. To him, it had to be the worst day of his life.

Back inside the store, the urn sat neatly by itself while holding its dark secrets from the rest of the world. The image painted on its side then had two new additions. There depicted in a furious battle were Aerrow and Dark Ace, and they would remain in the urn until the time came for them to be freed.

* * *

><p>BlueTiger321: Poor Danny!<p>

Danny: Great! Now my life is ruined!

Aerrow: _Your_ life is ruined? I'm stuck in an urn for the next ten years with a nutbag!

Dark Ace: Hey! I'm not too thrilled about this, either!

BlueTiger321: Well folks, in the next chapter, Danny will be reunited with his master and we'll get to see how these events have changed him. So, until next time...

Aerrow: Read and review!


	3. Chapter 2: Reunion

Chapter 2: Reunion

BlueTiger321: Hi, folks! So now we continue with the story. First, I'd like to say a couple things: For those of you who are wondering, the song from the last chapter, _The Middle_ by Jimmy Eat World, did in fact come out in the year 2001, which, I must admit, was a coincidence since I'm depicting this story to the present year and had no idea when that song was released since it was in the movie. Next, I'd like to point out that Dark Ace's cane is supposed to resemble his sword from the show, which is why it has the red crystal on the end. Next, credit once again goes to LyricsFreak for having the correct lyrics to the song used in this chapter, but again, this is how the song is sung in the movie. Finally, I'd like to thank JusSonic for the suggestion he sent to me for part of this chapter. So, now that that's done, enjoy!

* * *

><p>It was now ten years later to the day since the incident. The time was once again seven a.m. as an alarm clock started to buzz. A hand reached out to silence it, belonging to Danny Fenton, now recently turned twenty since it was his birthday.<p>

Danny groaned and stroked his pet Cujo, who was lying on his stomach. The alarm clock was shut off but there was still another beeping sound filling the man's ears.

"Good morning," said Danny. He then heard the beeping. "What is that?" Danny soon figured it was coming from his wristwatch. "Oh, right." After turning off his watch's alarm, he resumed petting his dog. "Good morning, beautiful." Cujo only made a slight groan in response.

The man was now fully awake and clothed in his usual attire, so he proceeded to the kitchen of his apartment. It was rather small, which consisted of a kitchen, living room, two bedrooms and one bathroom. It may not seem like much, but it is affordable for two university students. Once there, he rummaged through his fridge for a bottle of Mountain Dew.

Another person was currently sitting at the kitchen table while watching TV. It was a twenty year old, African-American man dressed in a yellow long-sleeved shirt and dark green pants. His short black hair was covered by a red beret, while a pair of glasses sat in front of his green eyes and brown shoes adorned his feet. This man was Danny's friend and roommate, Tucker Foley.

"Hey, heads up!" said Tucker, and he proceeded to throw Danny a small bag of cookies.

"Oh," said Danny after catching the bag in midair.

"Happy birthday."

Danny shut the fridge door and said, "Thank you, Tucker."

"You're up early," said Tucker before taking a sip from his coffee.

Danny sat down at the table to give his reason. "Professor Oak wants me to give a presentation to his Physics 101 class," he said.

"What? Teaching long division to English majors?" asked Tucker.

"I know. It's at the Peace Corps, but it's Oak's class."

Tucker snapped his fingers as he remembered something. "Hey, Bio nerds are gettin' drunk tonight." He followed up by doing a short dance while still sitting on the chair to show his enthusiasm. He watched Danny open his soda bottle and then continued his sentence. "_And_ we invited cheerleaders from Princeton."

"Oh," Danny said sarcastically. "So there's smart cheerleaders." He then turned around in his chair to go through his dresser.

Tucker, concerned for his friend, decided to see what the problem was. "So, seriously," he said, "you're saying you don't want to go out on your birthday?"

Danny picked up a pair of socks, and there he found the dragon ring he received from Aerrow. All the memories of his past then came flooding into his mind: the battle he witnessed in the store, the humiliation in front of all his classmates, the psychiatric help he got to cope with the incident, and the look on June's face. Even though Danny was another year older, he did not feel like it was something worth celebrating because of what happened to him when he was a child. But he decided not to share it with his friend.

Closing up the dresser drawer, he turned back to Tucker and said, "I gotta finish my Tesla coil project if I want to graduate."

Tucker nodded in response, understanding his friend's explanation, but then he decided to help in his own way. He stood up from his seat and said, "Danny, are you familiar with the gray wolf?" The man then took off a calendar with a picture of wolves from the fridge that was held by a magnetic clip.

"Oh, no, no, please, Tucker," Danny said exasperatedly. "Not this again with the gray wolf. I can't..."

Still, Tucker proceeded, making Danny hold his hands over his face. "The gray wolf is a pack animal." Danny brought his face up as his roommate kept speaking. "He must find a mate. He must hunt and grunt." Tucker sat back down in his chair while pointing to the wolves on the calendar. "He must participate. You're gonna get booted out of the pack! Alone. Eaten by a hungry bear."

"That's a real pick-me-up pep talk," said Danny sarcastically, "and I'm, uh, ready to go get the day."

* * *

><p>Later in the afternoon, Danny was in his class at New York University. He was putting the finishing touches on his physics project right at the front of the classroom while all the other students were busily chatting amongst themselves in their seats.<p>

(A/N: I should let you all know right now that I don't know the first thing about physics, so I'll do my best to describe what's happening.)

It was raining outside and thunder could be heard. As soon as the adjacent door from the side of the room was opened and a few people walked inside, a strong gust of wind came in and blew around Danny's notes.

"No, no!" Danny said in a frustrated tone. "Oh, man." He busily went around picking up his stray papers.

Danny was forced to step through the rows of seats to collect his notes. He was so focused on his task that he did not pay attention to where he was searching. A girl sitting in front of him looked down while he was getting his work together.

"Everything okay down there?" she asked.

Danny looked up and began to stutter when he saw he was looking at the mid-section of the woman sitting in front of her and realized it was rude. She was a nineteen year old Asian girl with long black hair that had a single strand on the left side dyed a deep pink, along with brown eyes and freckles on her nose. Her clothing was a green T-shirt with a pink dragonfly-like symbol that was short enough to reveal her midriff, a pair of blue jeans and brown shoes. A brown bracelet with a purple gem in the middle was wrapped around her right wrist.

Thinking of an excuse, Danny said, "I should just leave, right?"

"Right," replied the girl.

Danny gave a quick nod and turned around to walk away, but then he stopped when he noticed something: there was something familiar about this woman. He stared intently at her, trying to think of where he had seen her before, but the girl looked up to see the man was still standing there. Danny turned to his left to recollect his memories. The image of the girl was buried somewhere in his mind and he had to find it.

Mustering up all the courage he had, Danny turned to the woman and said, "Wait, I'm sorry. June?" The girl looked up at him. "Juniper Lee."

The girl was surprised. She did not know whether she ever met this guy or not, so why did he know her name?

Seeing that June didn't know who he was, the man said, "Danny!" He still saw June giving him a confused look so he decided to explain further. "We were in fourth grade together."

Then it finally came to June. "I do know you," she said. "Danny Fenton, right? The guy who peed himself."

Danny looked down sheepishly at the mention of how June remembered him. "Uh, right," he said. "Man, I saw how displeased you were when you thought that I was a liar and a coward, and you probably hate me."

"No, I was displeased by those insensible jerks making fun of ya. Come on! I would never laugh at someone unless it's a jerk who deserves it."

Danny blinked in surprise. All this time he thought the girl he liked thought he was a loser was really all in his imagination. "Oh, cool," he said. "Man, it's like you never laughed at me before in another fic."

"The Grinch fanmake JusSonic made years ago with us, remember?"

"Bingo!"

June then remembered how it all happened. "What was that place called?" she wondered. "Arcana..."

Danny looked down in embarrassment. Knowing full-well the name of the store he said, "Arcana Cabana?"

"Yeah... So, did you transfer?"

"Yeah, I did. And I got some, uh, help – treatment."

June gave a slight smirk to the man. "Yes, um," she said, "that was weird."

"Yeah, you know what?" he asked. "It turns out it's just a glucose imbalance. Uh, hallucinations? Not uncommon in young subjects." Danny was told by all the psychiatrists he visited as a boy that what he experienced was not real, but still; in the back of his mind, he always told himself it was real.

"Ah," June said about his explanation. "Right."

"It's a great anecdote."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, elsewhere in Manhattan, the urn from Aerrow's store was long since purchased and currently residing in the apartment of a couple named Bob and Miriam Pataki (<em>Hey Arnold!<em>).

Bob casually walked past the urn sitting by the entrance to the living room, unaware to hear it clattering; almost like it was moving on its own. The man walked back when he finally heard the noises to see it coming from the urn. A surprised look was frozen on his face as he wondered how the object could do something like that.

The image of Aerrow and Dark Ace was still painted on the side of the urn. Soon it would be time until they would be freed.

* * *

><p>Danny stepped out of the school once his class was finished for the day. The rain still continued to fall and drench whoever stepped outside the building. As Danny was walking and putting up his umbrella, he noticed June walking outside as well. He decided to try a fresh start with this girl since what happened was a long time ago and should be buried in the past.<p>

"Hey, June," said the man before thunder echoed and lightning flashed in the sky. "June? Hey, June?" Danny so desperately wanted to get her attention this time.

June already put the hood of her jacket over her head when she happened to hear the calls coming from behind her. She decided to let the man walk with her since they knew each other from back in elementary school.

"So, uh," said Danny, "how are you enjoying Physics 101?"

"My brain just does not think physics," replied the girl.

"So, what does it think, then?"

"Uh, music, mostly..."

The two of them continued to walk until they both stopped in front of a building with June pointing towards the entrance. "So, this is me," she said.

Danny awed as he recognized what the building was. "You work at the radio station?" he asked.

"Yeah, I do an afternoon show."

"Are you kidding me? That's so cool!"

"It's just college radio. Like, seven people listen to it."

Danny thought of a way to show he cares about her interest. "Well," he said, "I'll be listening. That's one more. You can round it up to eight."

Thunder rumbled in the sky, and June smiled and gave a short chuckle at Danny's comment. Somehow, she thought, she got the feeling this man was trying to get on her good side.

Just then, lightning flashed and struck the antenna at the top of the radio station. The woman glanced up and saw it in dismay. A worried look came to her face that made her fear the worst.

"I think that's our antenna!" June said before rushing into the building.

Danny followed after her, already thinking of what to do.

June walked into the recording room and said to her crew, "What's going on?"

A man named Scott Summers (_X-Men: Evolution_) said, "Hey, gorgeous. The whole mixer is toast, and Kurt called in sick."

June was now filled with despair. With the antenna out of commission and the engineer away, her station was going to have difficulty with broadcasting today's show.

The whole crew soon turned their heads when they heard someone clearing their throat. Standing there was Danny and he said, "Sorry to bother you. Where does your engineer keep his equipment?"

"Who's this guy?" asked Scott.

Danny just stood there with a hopeful expression, so June convinced the rest of her crew to show him the equipment. A moment later, Danny, June and Scott were now in a separate room where Danny was at the controls pressing buttons to fix the antenna.

"So," said Danny, "the good news is you're still transmitting. The bad news is your return loss is way too high."

June and Scott only stood there with blank faces. Hearing what the man said gave them no idea what it all meant.

Danny only nodded; glad to know he was there at the right moment since these people were clueless about mechanics. He soon continued pressing the buttons on the device and said, "All right, if I know what I'm doing, we should be good!"

Music was now filling the building, which meant the antenna was repaired. June laughed at the result while Scott pointed up his hand in the devil horn salute. Danny, meanwhile, put up his fist in triumph over his own work.

"Thank you," said June.

"No, please, it was my pleasure," replied Danny. "I could tell this is all pretty important for you."

"My show is like the one thing that..." June tried to come up with the right words, but already she could tell her classmate got the idea. "Well, you know."

"Mmm-hmm," said Danny while nodding his head. "Physics – that's my thing."

The man gathered up his jacket and umbrella and was about to say something to this woman while June just waited there and shrugged her shoulders while looking at Danny. But Danny just got cold feet and stood up without saying what he truly felt.

"I'll see you around," said the man.

* * *

><p>Elsewhere, Tucker stood on a metal staircase with his iPod, and he said to his roommate, "You didn't ask her out!" By his tone he was shocked to find out his friend could not gather the courage to say those words. "You just fixed her antenna and then you left."<p>

Danny was there working on his Tesla coil project in his separate laboratory, which was conveniently placed in an abandoned subway station. "That's not the point," he protested. "She will remember me."

"'She will remember me?'" said Tucker, quoting his friend sarcastically. "Who are you, Braveheart?"

"Tucker, I blew my shot at getting this girl ten years ago. I can't do it again. Now get out of here before you get electrocuted."

Danny's roommate did as he asked, though still a little frustrated over his friend's foolish act. Danny was all by himself so he turned on his radio, which was tuned to the university's radio station.

June was already broadcasting her show. She said, _"...and it's a miracle we made it on the air tonight. This show may not matter, but the music does."_ As June was doing her show, Danny began recording the next song with his laptop. He would definitely show that he took an interest in this woman's passion._ "This is June Lee, WNYU Radio, hoping there's music all around you."_

The radio then began to play _Secrets_ by One Republic. Danny then pushed a button on his laptop, which activated his Tesla coil. Lightning bolts began flashing around the room while Danny was in the safety of a metal cage high above the room.

_I need another story_

_Something to get off my chest_

_My life gets kinda boring_

_Need something that I can confess_

Danny stared out intently at what he created. In his mind, he knew this would definitely get June's attention.

_Tell me what you want to hear_

_Something that will light those ears_

_Sick of all the insinceres_

_I'm gonna give all my secrets away_

* * *

><p>Back in Bob and Miriam's apartment, they both watched the urn continue to shake. Both of them were confused by what would cause it, but they also had opposing views about what to do with it.<p>

"I don't understand," said Bob. "Why did you have to buy this piece of junk?"

"Junk?" Miriam said, offended by her husband's comment. "It's an antique!"

"Antique? It's a piece of junk from a flea market!"

All of a sudden, the lid of the urn blew off and ash spewed out from the hole. Bob and Miriam gasped at the sight but were more surprised to see the ash swirl around and land next to the urn. The minute pieces then twisted into the shape of a person until every part turned to flesh and clothing. There standing in front of them was Dark Ace, now finally free after spending ten years in the urn.

The Cyclonian placed his metal headpiece back where it belonged, and then he looked at the couple and asked while exhaling the last of the ash, "Am I the first one out?"

The only response he got was Miriam fainting forward from total shock at the sight. Bob did nothing but look at his wife in concern.

Seeing the reactions from the couple, Dark Ace said, "That's a yes."

The evil sorcerer knew what he had to do: find the Grimhold, release Cyclonis, and enslave mankind. But first, he had to make sure his adversary could not stop him. He lifted up the urn and walked over to the window.

"Our ten years are up, Aerrow," said Dark Ace. The Cyclonian used a spell to raise the blinds and open the window. "When I get the Grimhold from young Danny, I'll tell him you said hello." The urn was brought to the ledge of the building and then pushed out. "Goodbye, Aerrow!"

Dark Ace left the apartment thinking he finally defeated his former friend. Little did he know that as the urn fell down the tall building, ash once again spewed from the hole. The ash this time shifted around until it formed into Aerrow. The red-haired man grunted while he pushed his upper body out of the urn, but it was falling fast and heading straight for the sidewalk. In a desperate move, Aerrow grabbed onto a ledge where the urn dropped from his lower body and shattered on the pavement. All the passersby were startled from the crash.

Aerrow looked down, glad to see that he wasn't dead from the fall. But now was not the time to celebrate his freedom: he had to go and protect Danny. The sorcerer walked through the street looking for some way to reach his apprentice in time. That's when he looked through the night sky and saw the Chrysler Building shining in the distance.

Eventually, the man made his way up to the skyscraper. He walked to one of the steel eagles standing from the ledge and placed his hand on its surface. The ring on his finger glowed blue and made the steel ripple like water. Now he had his way to find Danny.

* * *

><p>Danny was back in his apartment and about to turn in for the night. He turned on a light, put down his bag and made his way into the kitchen. The man opened the fridge, completely oblivious to a dark figure sitting at the table.<p>

Danny then spotted something out of place on the upper door of the fridge. There was a graded paper attached by a fridge magnet that had his name as well as Mrs. Krabappel's name on it.

_That's odd_, Danny thought. He only had that teacher in fourth grade, so why would a paper from way back then be on his fridge?

A voice was then heard across the room, making Danny almost stumble backwards in surprise. "I thought B minus was generous," said the voice. There sitting at the table was Dark Ace, the evil sorcerer Danny encountered. "I've recently been released from a ten-year sentence, during which the only reading material available to me was your so-called report on Napoleon Bonaparte from your school bag." The man then lifted up his cane and pointed it at Danny, who was shaking with fear. "Your analysis was obvious; your prose was weak."

The young man was both frightened and confused. Here was one of the sorcerers that caused him so much grief over the years, and the man was scrutinizing him over an old school paper. "I was nine," he said to his defence.

"Irrelevant," said Dark Ace. He decided now was the time to get some answers from this boy. "Where's the Grimhold? That doll you took from the shop." He could see Danny was stuttering. "The doll held something very powerful; something very important to me. You had it last." He then whispered his next words in a threatening tone. "I want it back."

Danny frantically searched his memory to recall what he did that day. "Listen, I'm..." he said, trying to come up with the right words and seeing Dark Ace stand up. "I threw it in the street."

The Cyclonian still was not convinced by the answer. "Where's the Grimhold?"

"It's been a long time. I don't actually know where it is."

Dark Ace was now filled with rage. He cast a spell to make a butcher knife lying on the kitchen counter fly to him and he grabbed the hilt and held it out to Danny. The young man was now breathing heavily for fear of what would happen next.

"I'll cut the truth out of you," said the sorcerer.

Danny knew that he was no match against this man, so he did the only thing he could do – run. He quickly turned around and headed for the exit, only to run straight into the locked door where he fell to the floor.

As Danny was making an attempt to escape, Dark Ace saw out of the corner of his eye a calendar lying on the table, thinking this boy was doing something futile as he would eventually capture him and make him talk.

Danny got back up and opened the door where he ran out into the hallway.

Dark Ace looked at the wolves on the calendar saying, "Sweet."

The young man quickly ran down the stairs to get away from the Cyclonian, but he paused when he heard a crackling noise and saw a flash of red light. His ears were then filled with the shout of Dark Ace saying, "Get him!"

A pack of wolves then rushed out of the apartment. Danny figured that the man brought them to life from the calendar, and now he knew he was in trouble.

(A/N: For the wolves, imagine the pack that attacked Belle in _Beauty and the Beast_.)

"Wolves?" said Danny. "No, no, no, no!" He then ran down the stairs while his heart was beating a mile a minute.

The wolves all barked angrily and chased after Danny, their fangs sharp and thirsty for blood.

The young man managed to get out of his apartment and closed the door behind him. In his mind, he hoped the wolves wouldn't be able to chase after him since they lacked the intelligence and appendages to open a door. Still, he had to get a good distance away from Dark Ace so he ran up a set of stairs heading for a subway platform. He momentarily turned back to see a man open the door and let the wolves come running out barking.

"Oh!" cried Danny at the sight.

The man resumed his running up the stairs as the wolves continued their chase after him.

Danny was already at the turnstile and got out his transit pass. He swiped the card through the scanner, but then a buzzing noise was heard and a message displayed that said _Please Swipe Again_. Danny was now afraid for his life as the wolves were gaining on him, so he swiped the card again only to hear the same sound and have the same message appear. After a third try, a message that said _Go_ was displayed.

"Thank you!" said Danny as he rushed through the turnstile.

The wolves had already come to the spot just as Danny went through the gate in time. The turnstile was locked in place and kept the beasts from going any farther.

Danny looked at the vicious animals as they stuck their snouts out from the bars. "Wolves," he said worriedly, so he ran and headed for the subway platform.

Dark Ace was already going up the same stairs that led to the platform. He was going to make sure that the young man was not going to slip away from his grasp, especially with what was at stake.

The wolves had eventually found another way to the platform by pushing a sliding door. They all exhaled a furious growl while searching for their prey. Dark Ace had arrived through the same doors but only used his magic to make them open automatically. The man watched as the wolves sniffed the platform for their target.

Danny was hiding near the tracks away from the sorcerer and his creations. Sweat beaded down his forehead as he whispered, "Man, oh man, oh man." If he could not find a way out, then he knew he was finished.

A snarl got his attention and he turned around to see one of the wolves staring at him. Now Danny felt like his heart sank into his chest at being discovered.

The young man had no choice but to run. "No, no, no!" he shouted.

The shouting eventually made the other wolves turn around and spot Danny and so they resumed their chase.

Danny ran through the subway tracks and shouted, "Oh, no!" He thought this was finally the end.

The young man tripped and fell on his back, and the wolves barked as they got closer.

Dark Ace was finally done with this boy, so he said to the wolves, "Kill him."

The wolves all leapt from the platform with their fangs already out, aiming for Danny's body. The boy could only hold up his hands for protection as he shouted, "No!"

A flash of blue light then erupted out of nowhere while Danny waited for his death. Instead, he yelped as he felt something small land on his chest. He took his hands away from his face to see that the wolves had been transformed into wolf cubs. The baby animals let out playful barks as they crawled over Danny.

Dark Ace was left appalled at the sight. The vicious beasts he brought to life were now nothing more than harmless pets.

"Puppies?" Danny said confusedly.

The Cyclonian looked around to see what happened and turned around a moment too late as something from the sky came and knocked him off the platform and onto the tracks.

Danny looked up and stared wide-eyed at what was approaching him. "Oh, my," he said.

A giant steel eagle flapped its mighty wings and landed in the middle of the tracks.

"No way," Danny said, amazed by the sight.

Someone riding the eagle stepped up, and it was revealed to be Aerrow. Immediately he turned to his apprentice and said, "Where's the doll, Danny?"

Dark Ace had finally regained his bearings. Hearing Aerrow's voice made him infuriated that he was not gone like he thought earlier, and now he was going to make him pay.

Danny sat up with the wolf cubs in his arms, noticing Dark Ace coming from behind Aerrow. "Uh, him, him!" he frantically shouted.

Aerrow quickly turned around and sent out a blast of energy. The attack hit Dark Ace and made it look like he was surrounded by water just as he fired a red pulse from his cane. The spell resulted in putting the Cyclonian in a temporary state of stasis. In that moment, the sound of a subway train's horn echoed around the platform.

"All right, get up here," Aerrow shouted to Danny. "Now! Now! Hurry!"

The subway was coming in fast, making Danny stand up and yelp in fright. He then made his way over to Aerrow on the steel eagle. Being with this sorcerer still made him a little nervous but he knew it was better than being with Dark Ace.

To make sure no one was watching them escape, Aerrow shot out his hands and made a gust of wind send a newspaper fly directly into the window where the subway's driver was sitting.

Danny busily got up on the steel eagle. Aerrow, meanwhile, could not let the wolf cubs get hurt so he cast a spell and made their bodies go two-dimensional where they rested on the surface of the tracks. The eagle finally took off just before the subway arrived.

"Oh, no!" shouted Danny as he and the sorcerer flew into the sky.

The spell around Dark Ace wore off and he returned to normal. The subway was now coming directly for him and he had no time to cast a spell, so he instinctively climbed onto the platform just as the train rushed past him.

The Cyclonian watched his enemy and the young man take off through the sky. Fury took hold of him as he did not get the location of the Grimhold, so now he would have to go to his backup plan.

* * *

><p>BlueTiger321: Hurray! Aerrow's back and he saved Danny!<p>

Danny: Yeah, but Dark Ace is back, too!

Dark Ace: That's right, and I'm coming for you! Get him, wolves!

Wolves: *growling*

Danny: Ahhh! Please don't hurt me!

Aerrow: Oh, geez! *casts a spell and turns the wolves into wolf cubs* Danny, you're gonna have to learn to stand on your own two feet.

BlueTiger321: So folks, in the next chapter, we get to see some more action and magic. Until next time...

June: Read and review!


	4. Chapter 3: The Grimhold

Chapter 3: The Grimhold

BlueTiger321: All right! Now that Aerrow has rescued Danny, it's time to see if our hero will learn to become a sorcerer.

* * *

><p>The steel eagle landed back on the ledge of the Chrysler Building where it was meant to be. A flock of pigeons flew away scared from the metallic bird.<p>

Danny stepped down once he was safe, gasping for air not only from flying at a high altitude, but also to recover from shock of witnessing sorcery taking place around him. All this time, he thought, he would no longer have to worry about it ever again, and now here was the strange man who introduced him to this unbelievable concept back in his life.

Groaning and leaning over the railing, Danny said, "This is not happening. This is not happening." He had to assure himself that it was just a bad dream. "I taste sour in my mouth."

"Take it easy, Danny," said Aerrow. "Deep breaths." The last thing he needed was his apprentice vomiting over the skyscraper.

The sorcerer then commanded the steel eagle to go back to the spot where he found it. Danny turned around and said, "What?" He watched as the eagle changed back to its stationary form so no one would notice it had ever come to life. "Ah, now that is _not_ happening!"

Aerrow knelt down and picked up one of the pigeons, holding it gently like an expensive vase. "What's wrong? What is it?" he said to the bird.

Danny would no longer put up with this nonsense. "No, no, no, no!" he barked. "You are not doing this to me again!" Aerrow sat down on a window sill with the pigeon in his hands as he listened to his apprentice's explanation. "Do you have any idea what my life has been like for the last ten years?"

"I've been stuck in an urn for the last ten years," replied Aerrow, thinking it was rather obvious.

"So have I! A figurative urn of ridicule... Do you know that in certain parts of the tri-state area, they still refer to having a nervous breakdown as 'pulling a Danny Fenton'? Did you know that?"

Aerrow then had a sympathetic feeling for the young man. For as long as he had been gone, he did not realize that things would get this bad for Danny. But now was not the time to take pity: he still had to complete his mission.

"Try to be a good listener, Danny," said the sorcerer. In response, Danny shot up his hands in frustration, thinking the man wasn't listening at all. As Aerrow spoke, he began attaching a small piece of paper to the pigeon's leg. "That doll is called the Grimhold. It is a prison for the most dangerous Cyclonians in history, each one locked up in a layer of the doll. Dark Ace wants to free his fellow Cyclonians and destroy the world." The note was attached and the man held up his hand in a stern manner. "This must not happen."

Danny gave an apathetic nod and said, "Yeah. For sure." He could not understand why he had to get involved in this quarrel.

The sorcerer walked up and released the pigeon. "The truth is," he said, "you have a very special gift. You need to see that."

"I just want to be normal," plead Danny. "Normal life. I want to forget about that day at Arcana Cabana. I want to forget about magic. I want to forget everything."

Aerrow watched as the young man turned his back on him. All of a sudden, a whistling sound was filling his ears. "You should duck," he warned.

Danny turned back around and said, "What?"

A large object came falling down towards the two men, and Danny was forced to duck while yelping with fright. The object touched down on the balcony, and Danny turned to see that it was his own dresser.

"You want to forget magic?" said Aerrow as he walked over to the dresser. Looking through the drawer he found the object he gave to Danny ten years ago. Bringing it up he asked, "Then why'd you keep the ring?"

Thinking of a good reason, Danny said, "I... was going to sell that on, uh, eBay."

"You're still a bad liar, Danny," said the sorcerer, smiling while noticing the young man's pause. "I like that about you. It's a good sign. You have the gift."

"No, I have a life."

"You're the last person Dark Ace saw with the Grimhold. That puts you on his list. So unless you want him to turn you into a pig who just _loves_ physics, then you better help me find that doll before he does."

Danny still did not want to be a part of this. Holding up his hands he said, "This is crazy. You see how crazy this is, right?"

Aerrow already had a plan forming in his mind. "All right, all right," he said. "You help me get it back, you're done."

Danny then felt light-hearted at the mention of the deal. "Really?" he asked.

"You can walk away."

The young man thought for a moment. This would be his only chance to finally have a normal life and to not ever worry about either of these sorcerers bothering him again. He understood that it would be fraught with danger, but this was just too good an opportunity to pass up. Besides, he still had Aerrow for protection.

Nodding to show his approval, he said, "Can you please put my dresser back?"

Aerrow walked past his apprentice without lifting a finger to the dresser while Danny stood dumbfounded to see his request was ignored. He watched to see the man go back onto the steel eagle as he stared out at the city.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" said Danny. "What are you...? Oh, no. Please don't do that. What are you doing?" He thought that Aerrow was going to bring the eagle to life again.

Aerrow lifted up his hands and waved his fingers, concentrating hard as he cast his spell. In that instant, thunder clouds appeared over a section of the city. The man turned his head as he heard the thunder rumbling and lightning flashing in the distance.

"What?" said Danny, looking out at the thunder clouds. "Whoa. What is that?"

"It's my Grimhold tracking device," replied Aerrow. "Biometric pressure spell displaces the atmosphere above the doll. Looks like downtown."

* * *

><p>With their plan set, the two of them walked through an underground impound lot to prepare for their mission.<p>

"If we can track the Grimhold, so can Dark Ace," said Aerrow.

"So why don't we just take the eagle?" asked Danny.

"Too high-profile for a trip downtown."

Danny then had a confused look on his face. "Hey," he said, "isn't it a bit strange that you flew an eagle and you're a Storm Hawk?"

Aerrow paused momentarily after hearing what his apprentice told him. "Yeah, I guess it is," he said.

As soon as the two got to the lot, Aerrow showed a guard named Phillip J. Fry (_Futurama_) a set of papers. The guard looked at the serial number on the paper and recognized that it belonged to a certain car.

"Uh, I'll have to call you a tow," said Fry.

"Won't be necessary," replied Aerrow.

"Yeah, but this car's been impounded for like ten years."

Aerrow, Danny and Fry then got to the Rolls Royce Phantom that was once parked outside the shop. After spending so long in the impound lot, the car's black exterior was now covered with dust and grime.

Danny watched as Aerrow got into the driver's seat on the right side of the car, and he could only look skeptical at it. "This is low-profile," he said sarcastically.

Aerrow snapped his fingers once he was behind the steering wheel, making the car's engine start and the headlights turn on. Fry was surprised to see it happening and slowly backed away without giving it another thought.

"She missed me," Aerrow said happily.

The sorcerer and his apprentice then drove out of the lot. All the dust and dirt that was on the car's surface was now instantly removed when it rolled onto the street. As soon as they were a good distance down the road, Aerrow decided now was the time to begin instructing Danny.

"I'm gonna give you the basics," said the man. "Strictly Sorcery 101. Put on the ring."

Danny only stammered at the request. He thought that he was only supposed to get the doll back, and now he was hesitant to try sorcery.

"Nothing's going to happen," said Aerrow.

"Yeah?" said Danny. The young man did as he was asked, and so he placed the ring on his right index finger.

Without warning, Aerrow shouted as he forcefully turned the steering wheel into the next lane and made the car swerve from the sudden turn. Danny screamed with fright as he thought they were going to crash after putting on the ring when he was assured that nothing would happen. Another driver gave a slight honk on his horn after nearly being cut off, but then Aerrow regained control of the car and drove smoothly through the lane.

Danny felt like he had just swallowed his heart after that performance.

"Kidding," Aerrow said playfully, making Danny give him an angry glance as he bit his lower lip. Turning serious again, the man said, "You've heard how people only use ten per cent of their brains?" Danny nodded. "Sorcerers can manipulate matter because they're born with the capability to use the entire power of their brains, which also explains why molecular physics comes so easily to you."

"So, wait," said Danny. "Is sorcery science or magic?"

"Yes and yes. For now, all you need is a basic combat spell—making fire."

Aerrow stopped the car at a red light and directed his eyes over to see a police officer named Jill Valentine (_Resident Evil_) place a parking ticket on the windshield of a car. The man knew this was a perfect opportunity to explain his lesson.

"What causes molecules to heat up?" asked Aerrow.

"They vibrate," replied Danny. To him that question was a no-brainer.

"Everything we see is in a constant state of vibration, thus the illusion of solidity. But how to we take that which appears solid and have it burst into flames? We will the vibrations to go faster." Now Aerrow was going to show his apprentice his first spell. He took in a deep breath and waved his hand over his face as he said, "Step one: Clear your mind. Step two: See the molecules. Step three: Make them shake."

The sorcerer then shot out his hands and made the parking ticket burst into flames. Jill was taken aback to see the ticket suddenly spontaneously combust in front of her. She took out her booklet and tried to blow out the fire, but all she was doing was fanning the flame and making it bigger.

"Got it?" asked Aerrow.

"No!" said Danny. "I definitely don't 'got it.'"

"Trust the ring, Danny. And keep it subtle." Aerrow then made the car go forward as soon as the light was green. "Civilians mustn't know magic exists. That would be complicated."

"Says the guy in the 350-year-old suit and armour."

Aerrow ignored the comment about him as he kept driving. He knew that his apprentice would eventually get the complexity of sorcery; he just had to be patient.

Danny soon turned to Aerrow and said, "Hey, when am I going to get to drive this car?"

"As soon as you learn the basics of sorcery," replied Aerrow, "or never, or whichever comes first."

"Come on! You barely let me drive in _Super Aerrow Bros._!"

"Yeah, and that's the way it's gonna be as long as we're together in the author's stories!"

Danny only pouted as he and the man continued driving through the streets of New York.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Dark Ace walked through an alleyway where he remembered Aerrow's shop was located. Without getting further knowledge from Danny, he would have to resort to another method of finding the Grimhold.<p>

The Cyclonian stopped in front of the building that was now converted into an electronics store. The explanation from Danny about what he did to the doll then echoed throughout his mind.

"_I threw it in the street."_ Dark Ace concentrated hard as he recalled everything Danny told him. He closed his eyes as he remembered. _"It's been a long time. I don't actually know where it is."_ His lips then matched Danny's voice as it said, _"I threw it in the street."_

Dark Ace then cast a spell to see all the events that took place in that setting ten years ago. The man could hear everything what the people said around that time.

"_Don't go in there!"_ shouted young Danny.

"_Ew! He peed his pants!"_ shouted young Dash.

"_The store's on fire! Don't go in! Those guys are..."_

In that instant, the whole setting around the Cyclonian shifted back to exactly as it was ten years ago.

"_It's just water! There was a fire!"_ said young Danny.

Dark Ace watched as the boy came out with a horrified look while carrying the Grimhold in his hands. In an act of terror, young Danny threw away the doll without seeing where it landed.

"_I threw it in the street."_ The answer from Danny still remained inside the sorcerer's mind. Now he could see the young man was telling the truth.

"But where?" Dark Ace said in a frustrated tone.

The scene then showed what happened after those events. The Grimhold was eventually picked up by an old woman named Chu-Hui (the True Master from _Teen Titans_). The woman looked at the doll and thought it was valuable, especially with the image of the Asian man painted on its side, so she took it with her and walked away.

Dark Ace now had a clear understanding of who now has the Grimhold. He was about to head for where this woman lived but paused when a car's lights flashed in his eyes and the horn kept filling his ears.

The driver, a man named Seto Kaiba (_Yu-Gi-Oh!_) cried out, "Get out of the way, freak! I need to pull in there!"

"Are you addressing me?" said Dark Ace.

"Hey, don't mess with me."

The Cyclonian gave a smirk to Kaiba, thinking that it was this fool who should not mess with him. The crystal on his staff glowed with red light. He brought it up and made two daggers from within his armour come out and then directed them to the car. The daggers shot through the windshield at incredible speed, creating two holes. One barely missed the man's left arm while the other was embedded in his chest, killing him instantly.

Once Kaiba was dead, Dark Ace said, "Where was I?" He soon regained his train of thought as he searched through his spell to see where the woman lived. "Chinatown."

* * *

><p>New York City's Chinatown was bustling with activity as a huge celebration was taking place. Lanterns were held high above the streets, music filled the air, confetti was flying around each way anyone looked, and small firecrackers were set off to add to the festivities.<p>

Aerrow and Danny were now walking through the crowds to search for the Grimhold. As the sorcerer was checking the buildings, Danny looked out and saw a paper dragon moving through the streets that was followed by a parade. It was truly a sight to behold for everyone there.

Aerrow stopped when he found the building from where he saw the thunder clouds earlier. "This is it," he told Danny. "I'll get the Grimhold. Keep an eye out for Dark Ace."

The young man dropped his shoulders in disappointment while he watched the sorcerer enter the building alone. He was meant to be here to help only to be ordered to act as a watchdog. As he remained outside, some of the locals came up to him.

"Hi," said Danny.

Aerrow approached a room that was kept closed by a set of doors. Stopping just in front of them, he waved his hand around and cast a spell to see if the Grimhold was still in there. The familiar sense of the doll filled his mind. He opened a door and stepped inside. In the room, a yellow butterfly was startled and took off from a dresser as soon as Aerrow was inside and shut the door. Again, Aerrow used a spell to check for signs of the doll. He waved his hand over a desk, and then over a small mannequin with acupuncture needles covering its surface.

_This has to be the place_, Aerrow told himself, feeling the sense of the doll all over the room.

Just then, a voice was heard and made the sorcerer turn around to see an old woman coming out from behind a set of curtains. "Can I help you?" said Chu-Hui. "Do you have an appointment?"

"I'm sorry to trouble you," said the man. "I'm looking for a... Well, it's rather strange. It's a nesting doll. It's about this big." Aerrow set his hands apart to show the size of the doll. "Angry-looking Chinese gentleman on the front."

"Nesting doll?" asked the woman.

"Yes." Aerrow did not know why, but he got a feeling this woman was not who she appeared to be.

"It's possible. I collect so many objects."

Aerrow decided to test his instincts. "Your hair is beautiful," he said in a different dialect.

The old woman turned around and smiled. "Ah!" she said. "You speak Mandarin."

"Ah," Aerrow said humbly.

The man then thrust his arms to his side and sent out a blast of magical energy that sent the woman crashing into the doors. The glass broke upon receiving the impact from the woman's body where she slumped to the floor.

Aerrow knew there was something shady about this woman, so he walked up to her and said, "That was Cantonese, Dark Ace."

The woman wiped her hand across her face, getting rid of the façade and revealing herself to be Dark Ace.

"The Grimhold," said Aerrow. "Where is it?" The man had no idea that confetti was forming up behind him.

"An old associate of mine speaks impeccable Cantonese," said Dark Ace. "He lived about two hundred years ago."

The confetti formed into one single mass that shifted around until it was the size of a person. The paper then converted into flesh, and there standing behind Aerrow was the next sorcerer who was imprisoned in the Grimhold. He was a tall man dressed in a red robe with matching pants and a belt with a dragon belt buckle. His black hair was tied to a small bun that was held in place by a golden pin shaped like a flame while a slender black beard reached down to his chest. His yellow eyes narrowed upon seeing the one who imprisoned him, so he shed his robe to reveal his muscular chest.

"Know him? Ozai," said Dark Ace. "Of course you do. You locked him inside the Grimhold."

As Dark Ace distracted Aerrow, Ozai lifted up his hand and brought up every acupuncture needle he could find and made them levitate in the air. Now he was going to make the sorcerer pay for what he did.

Dark Ace brought up the doll to show the next layer had been unsealed. "Whoops," he said devilishly. "Opened it."

Aerrow turned around and froze to see Ozai send all the needles straight towards him. Thinking fast, the red-haired man turned around and extended the retractable wings situated on his back. The needles were embedded in the fabric and protected him from harm. Aerrow then thrust out his hands to unleash a blast of energy that hit Ozai in the chest and sent him crashing through a window.

Danny was still on the sidewalk keeping an eye out for Dark Ace when he opened his eyes wide in shock upon seeing someone fall out the window and land on a pile of boxes. "Whoa!" he said. "Are you all right? Looks like..." Danny was now even more surprised as how this man was dressed, not realizing he was a Cyclonian. "What the..."

All the citizens behind him then started clapping and cheering, thinking that it was all part of the celebration. Danny decided to join in with them. "Yay!" he said. "I'm like one of them."

"Danny?" called Aerrow from the window. Both the young man and Ozai turned around to see him. "You should run." The sorcerer then walked back into the room.

Danny laughed nervously when he found out the man in front of him was evil, so he did as his master told him: he ran. Ozai watched him run into the crowd and already had a plan forming. He looked at the dragon on his belt buckle and began moving around his fingers. The dragon responded to the spell and shifted along with the sorcerer's command.

The paper dragon out in the street then changed its appearance. Its exterior changed from brightly-coloured paper to black flesh and scales, and its eyes shifted around as they turned reptilian (the Dark Dragon from _American Dragon: Jake Long_).

The people inside the dragon said in Cantonese, "This thing is getting heavy." It was too late for them as their bodies fused into the dragon's body parts.

Danny was busy running when he accidentally bumped into a woman. "Sorry, sorry. I'm sorry," he said.

Soon, everyone else in the crowd was screaming as the dragon roared. Danny turned around and screamed as well to see the mythical creature bear its fangs at him.

Aerrow looked out at the street to see what Ozai had created. He had to protect the people and Danny from this monster, so he grabbed a handful of confetti on the window sill and blew it out into the air. The confetti then multiplied immensely and covered the entire street to keep everyone safe. The dragon lifted up its head and roared while Danny ran into a hair salon.

Ozai commanded the dragon to go after the young man, making the dragon on his belt follow the movement of his fingers. The dragon crashed through the entrance of the building, sending sparks and debris everywhere. Danny was barely in its path of destruction as he ran up a flight of stairs, but the dragon soon followed after him.

Aerrow walked through the room to find Dark Ace and to get the Grimhold. He knew his former friend would try to hide like the coward he was, but he also knew him to be extremely crafty.

Dark Ace hid behind a doorway with beads lining the frame, hoping that Aerrow would pass by him. Little did he suspect that the beads were slowly wrapping themselves around his body while he stood there waiting for the time to strike. When he saw the beads it was too late; they formed a tight grasp around his neck and pulled him out into the room where Aerrow was waiting.

"Be still," said Aerrow while controlling the beads.

The beads then wrapped around Dark Ace's legs and tied them together. The red-haired man then wrapped the beads around the Cyclonian's arms where they grasped his cane and slung it to the ceiling. Now without his sorcerer's ring, Dark Ace had no way of defending himself. With a twist of his wrist, Aerrow commanded the beads to grab the Grimhold from behind Dark Ace. The evil sorcerer could only watch with a stunned face to see the doll slip out of his possession and into his former friend's hands.

Aerrow jumped through the window and left Dark Ace enraged while still trapped in the beads. Jumping into the confetti-filled street, he began his search for his apprentice.

Danny screamed while running away from the dragon. The mighty beast broke its way through the walls in continuing pursuit for its target. Danny got to a window and headed out onto the fire escape just as the dragon struggled its way over to him.

The young man knew he had to get help as he was clearly no match against a dragon. "Aerrow!" he called.

The call was heard but not by the person he expected. Ozai blew away the confetti around him and looked up at the young man, so now Danny was left with no other option but to fight. If what Aerrow said to him was true, then he should be able to cast a spell. He held out his ring and concentrated. He had been taught how to make fire, so he concentrated on making the molecules vibrate faster. No matter how hard he tried, he could not make even a small spark.

Ozai only smirked at the young man, thinking him to be an amateur. Meanwhile, the dragon was making its way through the hallway while roaring furiously.

"Oh, God," said Danny. "Come on." He tried again to make fire.

Confetti was blown away farther down from where Ozai was, and standing there was Aerrow. "You skipped the first step!" he called to his apprentice. "Clear your mind!"

"Skipped the first step," Danny cursed to himself.

The dragon opened its mouth wide and exhaled a breath of fire. Danny saw it coming and ran up the fire escape while shouting in fright.

"Clear my mind?" said Danny. "Are you insane?"

Aerrow thought of a response, but he said nothing and made a small space between his index finger and his thumb.

"Little bit," Danny said, recognizing the gesture.

Ozai then made the dragon on his belt wrap itself completely around the buckle, and the dragon crashed through the window with a roar. Danny screamed as the beast was coming after him so he went farther up the fire escape just before part of it was ripped away by the dragon's claws.

Aerrow held his hand out to the falling fire escape and changed it into confetti so the civilians weren't crushed.

The dragon on Ozai's belt was now crawling up, making the real dragon crawl up the building after Danny.

"Oh, man!" shouted the young man.

Now the dragon on Ozai's belt was crawling up out of the buckle and started burrowing itself into the sorcerer's skin, making the real dragon continue its hunt up the building.

Danny then decided to try making fire again. He held out his ring and this time made sure to clear his mind. The dragon slowly crawled its way up while emitting a low growl. Danny focused real hard on his spell, clearing his mind, seeing the molecules and willing them to vibrate faster.

"This is it," said Aerrow. He had complete faith in his apprentice and was sure he would cast a spell. "Clear your mind. Believe."

Danny closed his eyes just as the emerald on his ring glowed. The dragon let out another roar, and Danny unleashed a blast of energy from his hand that almost sent him sprawling backwards.

Ozai's belt then caught on fire, making him try to put it out. The result was the real dragon catching on fire as well. The beast let out a cry in agony as the flame seared through its scales and down to its flesh. Aerrow decided to assist the young man, so he shot a fire ball from his hand directly at Ozai.

Danny watched in amazement as the fire spread throughout the dragon's body until it fell off the building. Ozai was unfortunate to be directly under the dragon when it fell onto him and set off a fiery explosion. The operators of the paper dragon then re-emerged on the street after the dragon and Ozai were both destroyed.

Danny shouted in triumph over casting his first spell just as the confetti covering the street was gone. "Yeah!" he exclaimed. "Go Team Magical Stuff!"

Aerrow took out the Grimhold, now much smaller after Ozai was released. He looked at the image of the next one imprisoned, which was a young girl in a white kimono with long white hair and black eyes. Two white flowers were nestled in her hair on both sides of her head, and she held a large mirror in her hands. Aerrow knew that he must try extra hard to keep the Grimhold away from Dark Ace, for after this girl would come the most dangerous Cyclonian of them all.

The sorcerer turned his head to see Danny happily run down the steps, feeling like he could do anything after performing his first spell.

"Did you see that? Did you see what I just did?" asked Danny, acting overconfident. "I did it."

Dark Ace looked out from the window after freeing himself from Aerrow's trap. He was taken aback to see Ozai was dead, but what stunned him even more was when he saw Danny and what was on his hand.

"It can't be!" said the Cyclonian. He witnessed Merlin's ring on Danny's hand. Now he understood why Aerrow was going through such great lengths to protect this boy, because he was the Prime Merlinean.

All of a sudden, police sirens were blazing as cruisers drove through the street after receiving an emergency call about what happened. The cars stopped as the officers got out to survey the area. Aerrow and Danny turned to see the police officers coming towards them, and the sorcerer already had a plan.

"Unbelievable," said a portly officer named Chief Wiggum.

Aerrow walked up to Chief Wiggum while Danny followed after him with a worried look on his face.

The fat police officer looked out ahead of him and said, "Hey, what do you got? Did you see what happened here?"

The Chief was addressing Aerrow and Danny, who quickly had their clothes changed into police uniforms by the sorcerer along with moustaches on their faces. Danny was shocked at first, seeing himself in the uniform and feeling the facial hair on his fingers.

"You know what?" Aerrow said in a Brooklyn accent. "Bottle rocket meets paper dragon in this Asian festival. Lit it up like a birthday cake." The sorcerer hoped this ruse would work.

"We got swamped with calls saying there was a real dragon," said Chief Wiggum.

Aerrow laughed at the comment. "Between you an' me, Chief, I think some o' these folks were hittin' the sake pretty hard."

"Uh," Danny interjected, "sake's Japanese, actually."

The sorcerer stared down at the ground, frustrated over his apprentice's act of foolishness. Chief Wiggum gave Danny an odd glance at the response, forcing the young man to tip his hat and look away.

"Carry on," said the cop before walking away from the two.

Aerrow and Danny walked down the street once the plan had worked. The sorcerer turned to his apprentice and said in his real voice, "'Sake's Japanese?'"

"Well, it is," replied Danny.

"I was in character."

"Oh, right."

The two got back into the Phantom after Aerrow changed their appearances back to normal. Danny was greeted with Aerrow holding out his hand to him.

"You may now return the ring to me," said the man. The only response he got was Danny acting hesitant after what he accomplished. "I'm a man of my word. You helped me, we're done."

"Right, right," said Danny. He paused for a moment to tell this man what he wanted to do. After giving it a lot of thought, Danny said, "I'd like to learn some more."

Aerrow smirked at the young man's answer, glad to see that his plan had worked. Now that Danny was convinced that he had no reason to fear sorcery, he could finally realize his true potential.

The sorcerer looked at his apprentice and said, "We'll need a place to work; somewhere under Dark Ace's radar."

Danny thought about it for a moment and knew exactly where he and his master could train. He turned to him and said, "I think I can help with that."

Aerrow started up his car and drove out of Chinatown. Now he would finally get the chance to instruct his apprentice and fulfill the prophecy.

* * *

><p>BlueTiger321: Wow! Now was that chapter awesome or what?<p>

Danny: You said it! Did you see how I mastered making that fire?

Aerrow: Hey! You've still got a long way to go before you master anything!

Ozai: Yeah! That was just beginner's luck!

Danny: Wait, aren't you supposed to be dead?

Ozai: That's what they _want_ you to think!

BlueTiger321: Okay! Well, before things get out of hand over here, in the next chapter we'll get to see Danny as he tries his hand at sorcery. Also, I'd like to point out that, for those of you who don't know, _Super Aerrow Bros._ is one of my stories that features Aerrow and Danny. So folks, until next time...

Aerrow: Read and review!


	5. Chapter 4: Sorcery 101

Chapter 4: Sorcery 101

BlueTiger321: Okay, so Danny is now ready to try sorcery. Will he be able to do it, or is there something else on his mind? You'll find out when you read what happens.

* * *

><p>Aerrow parked the car under a bridge. His apprentice was going to lead him to the spot where they would begin their training, and he also advised Danny to stay here for the time being since Dark Ace already knew where he lived. Hopefully, they would be able to train without further interruption.<p>

Danny got out of the Phantom and led his master to a door. They got inside the young man's current laboratory as he said, "This was originally a subway turnaround. They let me work down here because some of my experiments skew a bit dangerous." The two of them went down a set of stairs onto the main floor as Danny continued his description. "Oh, my professor has a hookup, so nobody knows we're down here."

The sorcerer saw a desk sitting next to the stairs. Immediately he took out the Grimhold and placed it on the desk's surface, where he followed up by placing a spell around the doll to make it invisible. It would be the best he could do to prevent Dark Ace from finding it.

Once that task was complete, Aerrow turned to his apprentice and said, "Oh." He then rummaged around his suit to find something. "I didn't have a chance to give you this before." The man found what he needed and presented it before Danny. "Your Encantus."

In Aerrow's hands was a small book about the size of a matchbox. Danny stared at the book, thinking it was odd and unlike the one he saw back in Aerrow's shop.

"I remember it being bigger," said Danny.

"Pocket edition," explained Aerrow. Danny then nodded his head and saw Aerrow unfold the book to make it bigger. "The Encantus is our textbook." Every time the sorcerer unfolded the book, it would grow larger right before Danny's eyes. "The art and science and history of sorcery, including our recent history as well."

The Encantus was now completely flat and about the size of an atlas. Aerrow placed it in Danny's hands and lifted his fingers. Danny watched as the book's width suddenly grew and its weight increased. He had to hold on to it as the sudden change in weight almost made him drop the book.

"Come on," said Danny. He hoped he would not have to read the entire book.

The book was opened to a specific page, and Aerrow pointed to a few illustrations. "See?" he said. "There you are."

Danny looked down to see three illustrations: one of Dark Ace, one of Ozai, and one of himself. The young man only looked shocked as the illustration of himself depicted him holding his hands to the side of his face and opening his mouth like he was screaming with fright. Danny felt a little insulted by how this was the only picture the book showed of him.

"Oh," said Danny indifferently before closing the book and placing it on the desk.

Aerrow walked off and said, "Before we can put Dark Ace back inside the Grimhold, we must first turn you into a sorcerer, which begins now. Step back."

Danny watched as his master walked into the centre of the room and gently pushed out his hand to use a spell that moved some of the equipment.

The young man walked up in protest. All this equipment was for his studies and now Aerrow was messing it up like it was nothing to him. "I really was doing stuff," said Danny.

"Eyes open," said the sorcerer. "Mouth closed."

Danny did as he was told like a dog obeying its owner. There he watched as the red-haired man held out his arms and concentrated. Soon, every light in the room was shut off. Danny did the same thing he saw Aerrow do but was perplexed at the sight.

"What?" Danny whispered to himself.

Aerrow brought his hands together and then shot them straight into the air. A circle of green fire then surrounded him, making Danny jump back and yelp in surprise. The young man calmed down as the flame settled, revealing Aerrow continuing his spell. He placed his right hand to the floor, swirling it around in a circle. Small sparks erupted from the reaction and burned into the clay tiles.

Danny was amazed at what was happening. All this was still new to him, but he had the idea this would help him to become a sorcerer like Aerrow wanted him to be, so he watched and waited for the spell to be complete.

The sparks continued to move around until they formed six smaller circles inside the large circle of fire, each one having an archaic symbol. Lines were then formed from the larger circle's circumference that stretched until they got to the radius. A circle then formed around the centre where Aerrow was standing, and he turned to his apprentice while the green flames still flickered.

(A/N: I hope all this explanation about circles hasn't confused any of you. XD)

"This is the Merlin Circle," said Aerrow. "It focuses your energy—helps you master new spells. It is where you will learn the Art. Step inside, you leave everything else behind. Once you enter, there is no going back."

Danny listened intently at what his master told him. He understood the graveness of what he was about to do and he would accept the responsibility and the power that came with becoming a sorcerer. But still, he could not help but make light of the situation.

With a slight smirk, Danny said, "So, I should probably pee first? Better safe than..."

Aerrow only gave him a stern look. He thought Danny should never make jokes when it came to sorcery because it was serious work.

Danny saw that his master was not laughing. "I can hold it," he said and gave the man a thumb up.

The young man stepped into the Merlin Circle, carefully placing his feet away from the flames to avoid getting burned. He was now in the circle and got close to Aerrow.

"I am Aerrow Strike," said the sorcerer, "sorcerer of the seven hundred and seventy-seventh degree, and you are my apprentice."

Danny stared into the man's green eyes after officially becoming his apprentice. In a soft whisper, he said, "Sweet."

Now the training truly began. Danny was inside the Merlin Circle while Aerrow walked around it as he began to instruct in the sacred art.

"Your ring is not a piece of jewellery," said the red-haired man as he brought up his own ring. Danny also looked at his own ring while his master spoke. "It projects the electrical energy of your nervous system into the physical world. Without his ring, a sorcerer is powerless. The only other thing a sorcerer needs is a nice pair of pointy shoes."

Aerrow walked over to a chair and brought up a pair of brown shoes, which he then threw to Danny. The young man caught the shoes in his arms and stared at them in confusion. He was already wearing shoes, so he couldn't understand why this man was giving him these ones.

"Your rubber soles block the current," explained Aerrow. "Plus it helps to look classy."

"These are old man shoes," said Danny.

The young man looked down and opened his eyes wide. He saw that his master was wearing the exact same shoes he held in his hands.

Aerrow felt slightly insulted by the comment, thinking Danny was calling him old. He lived for over a thousand years, but that was still no reason to say he was old. "Excuse me?" he scolded.

Changing his tone, Danny said, "I love them... a lot." He hoped he would not have to pay for his earlier remark.

* * *

><p>Elsewhere in a fast food joint on the streets of New York, a cook named Niko Bellic (<em>Grand Theft Auto IV<em>) handed his customers waiting outside a paper bag. The customers walked away with their order, completely oblivious to someone walking up from across the street who held a cane with a red crystal at the top.

Niko went back to the grill and was about to flip some hamburgers when he stopped as he saw images burned into the sides of the patties. The cook looked to see a menacing-looking raven on the burgers, and he knew what that meant.

Turning back to the window, Niko saw Dark Ace standing there. The two of them then stepped to the side of the restaurant to talk.

The man then addressed to the sorcerer in a Bosnian accent, "I haven't seen that cane since I saw a picture of it when I was a boy." Dark Ace gave a slight smile to the compliment. "You've been locked up a long time."

"And now I'm out," said Dark Ace. He was glad to have found this man, knowing that he wasn't a sorcerer but a Cyclonian informant. "And I need soldiers." If he had any hope of getting back the Grimhold, he would need the assistance of another Cyclonian to help fight against Aerrow and the Prime Merlinean.

"I got one kid," said Niko. "He ain't old school."

"One will do."

* * *

><p>Back in Danny's lab, Aerrow was now instructing him to use a spell that every sorcerer should know. A ball of blue lightning pulsed in his right hand as he walked around the Merlin Circle with Danny standing inside one of the outer circles that blazed with a crimson flame around him. He was also wearing a baseball catcher's uniform over his clothes and the shoes Aerrow gave him on his feet.<p>

"Your ingenuity and your heart will give you an advantage over Cyclonians," said Aerrow. "They rely only on the power of their magic. But if you're up against the wall, there's only one weapon of choice: the Plasma Bolt."

Aerrow walked into the circle towards Danny who held up his arms in defence. The young man watched as his master turned around and fired the plasma bolt at a stack of papers sitting on the desk. Danny got the catcher's mask that almost fell off his head and hoped that Aerrow hadn't accidentally destroyed some important research.

Now it was Danny's turn to try using the Plasma Bolt spell. He held his hands together like Aerrow showed him, and then he cleared his mind. After a short while of trying to concentrate, he stomped his right foot to see if that would do anything. He eventually got flustered and gave up.

"Nothing. There's nothing!" said Danny.

The young man tried again, and this time he watched as lightning formed from his fingertips. Danny had created a plasma bolt that was uniquely coloured green compared to the blue bolts Aerrow made.

"I got it! I got one! I got one!" he exclaimed. His dreams of grandeur soon faded when he spread out his hands and watched his plasma bolt fizzle to the floor. "That's underwhelming."

Danny tried again. He managed to create another plasma bolt but let it slip out of his grasp and watched it fly away. "God!" he said in frustration.

Again, the young man tried. Creating another plasma bolt, he lost control of it and let it hit his mask.

Aerrow watched his apprentice's progress. He knew Danny would eventually control this spell as long as he practiced. "Again," he said.

Danny created another plasma bolt and once again lost control. The bolt was now repeatedly flying into his mask and hitting his face.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" said Danny as his own spell was hurting him.

After another try, Danny managed to get the plasma bolt a few inches in front of him but it fizzled to the floor. The young man was now getting extremely frustrated that this spell wasn't working for him.

Another plasma bolt was created, but the young man lost control and let it fly into his chest protector where it bounced off his body and made him stumble backward and hit the floor on his rear. The plasma bolt then flew away and hit the desk where it rustled a pile of papers.

Danny tried again. He applied too much force and fell back down and watched his plasma bolt bounce off the floor, hit the ceiling and bounce onto the railing where Aerrow was walking while reading a book.

"...and invite my soul..." Aerrow read before watching the plasma bolt bounce around him. He then turned to his apprentice. "And again."

Danny fired another plasma bolt. It went back to him and struck the groin area of his chest protector before flying away. The young man smiled after not receiving excruciating pain.

"See?" said Danny, lifting up the protector over his groin. "That's what padding is—"

The apprentice never finished his sentence as the plasma bolt came back and struck his exposed groin. Danny cried out in agony and slumped to the floor as he doubled over in pain.

* * *

><p>It was the next day. Somewhere in Manhattan stood a tall and luxurious building. The flags outside waved in the wind while the black and gold exterior almost reached up to the clouds. Whoever lived here obviously deserved to live such a lavish lifestyle.<p>

From the inside of a double set of gold-plated doors, a red light could be seen through the slit in-between them as they were unlocked. One of the doors was opened and in walked Dark Ace. He had been informed that this was where a Cyclonian lived, so now he was going to recruit him in the hopes of freeing Master Cyclonis.

The sorcerer walked into the penthouse suite. The entire room was ostentatious with green marble tiles lining the floor that matched the walls, a fireplace with an enormous flame dancing off to the side, a suit of Japanese armour and other antiquities, and giant paintings that each depicted the same person.

As Dark Ace walked through the room he heard a man talking. "So, out of a bath full of jewels, I'm going to emerge, right?" he said. "And everyone's gonna think I'm me. I reach into the big top hat and pull myself out, but I'm a woman."

The Cyclonian stopped in front of one of the paintings and there he saw a man sitting at a throne with a panther on his left side while he held up a golden sceptre in his right hand. This was an albino-skinned man with red hair and eyes dressed in a black trench coat with matching pants, boots and fingerless gloves. A pair of yellow-tinted goggles sat neatly on his forehead while a brown backpack was secured behind him with the straps criss-crossed over his chest. This was the famous magician named Jack Spicer.

Dark Ace thought this man was extremely arrogant by how he pictured himself.

Jack continued to speak throughout his suite to his team. "A ball of fire, right," he said, "a baby sitting in a diaper, but I would like a tiger. If I could get, like, a tiger jumping out of a leopard. But not out of its mouth, that's been done, I'm sure, somewhere."

Dark Ace looked around to see framed posters of Jack that showed his stage acts as well as several awards on display. Now the sorcerer was revolted by how this Cyclonian was making a mockery of magic and sorcerers everywhere with his fame.

Jack was sitting in his lounge chair while a manicurist was applying nail polish on his fingernails. "Gorgeous," he said. "Just perfect, darling. Yeah. Yeah, now, keep it straight up sinister."

Dark Ace had just about enough of this nonsense. "Oh, do tell me this is a joke," he said.

Everyone else in the room stopped what they were doing when they heard the voice. They looked up to see Dark Ace walking towards Jack, not knowing who he was or why he was here.

"Sorry, are you lost?" asked Jack.

"So," said Dark Ace, "you're what passes for a Cyclonian these days."

Upon hearing Cyclonian, Jack's eyes brightened up as he finally recognized this man. "Dark Ace!" he exclaimed and got off his chair. "You are one smoking man of—"

"Will you excuse us, ladies?" Dark Ace interjected.

"Yes, excuse us, ladies." Jack desperately wanted to be alone with the sorcerer he idolized. And so, the rest of Jack's team left the room without so much as a glance to their boss. "Bill," Jack addressed his manager, who was also asked to leave.

The manager named Bill (_King of the Hill_) walked past Dark Ace and the sorcerer greeted him by saying, "Bill."

"Sorry," said Jack. Now he was finally alone with the master sorcerer.

"So, they tell me you're some kind of... entertainer." Dark Ace said the last word with complete disgust.

"Five sold-out shows at the Garden, plus back end on the pay-per-view." Jack thought he was rather proud of himself for what he accomplished.

Dark Ace only brought up his cane and pointed the end to a couch. A blast of energy erupted from it and blew away a pile of throw pillows. Jack almost backed away in alarm at what his fellow Cyclonian had done.

Now Dark Ace was going to tell him how he really felt about Jack. In an enraged voice he said, "Did you ever see Master Cyclonis pull a rabbit out of a hat?"

"Look," Jack explained, "my master disappeared when I was fifteen, vanished! Left me with nothing but an Encantus and some prescription-grade abandonment issues! So I improvised."

"Well, the time for improvisation is over." The evil sorcerer walked up to his recruit to explain what would happen now. "Aerrow Strike may have found the Prime Merlinean."

"He wears the ring?"

Dark Ace nodded in response. Now he could see this buffoon would understand the seriousness of this matter.

* * *

><p>Back in Danny's lab, the young man had just created a ball of fire in his palm. He brought it up and balled his other hand into a fist where he shot the flame in front of him. Aerrow was there and he intercepted the flame by holding up his own hands and caught it just before it reached his body by creating a ball of wind from his palms.<p>

"The best way to defend against fire; the Vacuum Sphere," said the sorcerer.

Danny was still in the Merlin Circle within the same section he had been training. Aerrow pulled his arms apart to dissipate the flame and end the spell. He then brought his hand back up and created a small flame.

"Your turn," said the man.

Danny shook his head in hesitance. He was starting to doubt his own abilities, but Aerrow soon blew into his palm and shot the flame at his apprentice. Thinking quickly, Danny held up his hands and tried to remember what his master taught him. The waves of air formed between his hands and created the Vacuum Sphere spell that caught the flame. Danny sighed in relief at what he just did. It looked like the Merlin Circle was helping him after all.

"I did it! I did it!" said Danny. He made both his spell and the flame disappear upon spreading out his arms. All the training finally exhausted him so he hunched over to catch his breath.

"Excellent, excellent, excellent," Aerrow congratulated, walking up to the young man.

"I just did that."

Aerrow smiled. He decided now was the time for some fun. "What's wrong with your Tesla coil?" he asked. "It seems to be firing on its own."

The sorcerer snapped his fingers, and then a lightning bolt erupted from the Tesla coil that struck Danny in the chest. Not knowing what to do, Danny shouted in pain as he fell on his back. He sat back up after falling victim to the prank.

"Really, really funny," Danny said sarcastically. He thought his master was going to take this seriously.

Aerrow had poured himself a cup of tea. "This'll be hilarious, then," he said and took a sip.

The sorcerer watched as he cast another spell and made the Tesla coil fire another lightning bolt at Danny.

"Oh, my God!" screamed the apprentice.

* * *

><p>Aerrow figured now it was time for him and Danny to take a break from all the training they did for the day. It was night time and the two of them were sitting on a bench. The man sat a paper bag between him and his apprentice where he reached into it and brought out five hamburgers still in their wrappers.<p>

Danny looked at all the food that Aerrow got for himself, thinking he was a real glutton. "Dude!" he said.

Aerrow turned his head and explained, "Beg your pardon. I haven't eaten in ten years." He then unwrapped one of the burgers and took a huge bite out of it.

"Yeah," replied Danny. "Yeah, fair enough."

"You mind if I ask what's so special about this bench?"

Danny turned his head to look behind Aerrow and there he saw the WNYU Radio building. The doors opened and out walked June, the girl that he cared about for so many years. Aerrow turned to see in the direction Danny was looking, and he saw a woman walking down the street. The realization then struck him by why Danny chose this bench.

"No, no, no," said the sorcerer.

"What?" asked Danny, not seeing the problem.

Aerrow held a pickle in his hands as he said, "There's no time for that, and too much at stake."

Danny wouldn't listen to reasoning. "That girl... She's the one, man. And you're my mentor, Aerrow. Aren't you supposed to help me to achieve my personal goals?"

Aerrow brought his pickle up to his head and waved it around while giving a sarcastic smile. "Yes! Yes!" he said before turning serious. "Except I'm not your mentor, I'm your master. And your master says if Dark Ace catches you out on the street, you'll die." He then pointed his pickle over to June like it was an accusing finger. "Is she worth that? Think about it, Danny."

Danny thought about it for a while. He knew his master was right about running into Dark Ace if he's not prepared, but then all the things Tucker told him were also true. The conflicting emotions soon weighed heavily on the young man, so he did the one thing he knew was right. Standing up, he walked away from Aerrow and headed over to greet June.

Aerrow looked at his apprentice disappointingly. He thought it was the obvious choice to stay and focus on his sorcery, but Danny walking away from him was a sign that he didn't care at all about his responsibilities.

Danny turned back to his master as he walked away and said, "And don't eat my sandwich." He then finally got up to June and said, "June! What a coincidence."

June turned her head and saw her classmate. "Oh, hey, Danny," she said.

"Goin' uptown or..."

"Are you stalking me?"

"Not in a threatening way."

Aerrow watched and heard everything, thinking Danny was a fool for coming on to this girl. "Why was I even concerned?" he said and then took a bite out of his pickle.

Danny and June eventually walked through an underground subway. The young man was trying to strike up a conversation with this girl to show that he did take an interest in her passion for music, and hopefully to show what he truly felt about her.

"So I listened to your show last night," said Danny.

"What did you think?" asked June.

"It was amazing. I've never actually heard any of those bands, which I think is a good indicator that they're cool."

June laughed at the comment as she and Danny walked down a set of stairs that led to the subway platform. "I'm glad someone was listening," she said.

"This may come as a surprise to you; I don't get up to much."

The two of them then stopped when a man named Greed (_FullMetal Alchemist_) came up to them and held out a switchblade at the woman threateningly. Danny and June yelped in fright when they saw the weapon.

"Gimme the cash!" said Greed. "Give it! Come on!"

June did as she was told and handed over her purse, a slight tear coming to her eye. The mugger still wasn't satisfied and eyed what was on her wrist.

"Gimme the bracelet! Come on! Come on!"

"Okay, okay!" June said worriedly, taking off her bracelet.

"Hey, hey!" Danny said, trying to intercede.

Greed got everything he wanted and then ran between the two and up the stairs. June screamed as she was shoved aside and watched the mugger escape.

"That was my grandmother's bracelet," June said sadly. She then turned around and felt the tears run down her cheeks after losing her most precious valuable.

Danny saw the woman's plight and knew that he had training to handle situations like this. With his goal set, he ran up the stairs to go after the mugger.

"No! Danny, don't!" cried June, thinking Danny was going to put himself in danger.

The young man ignored the cries as he ran up the stairs and fished out his sorcerer's ring from his pocket. He would show the mugger not to mess with him. Danny saw the man was about to escape through a turnstile, but he held out his ring and concentrated.

A wave of green light passed over the turnstile's locking mechanism that made the light turn red and held the bars in place. Greed tried to push through the gate but could not as he banged his head against the bars. He pushed and pulled on it but the turnstile wouldn't budge.

Danny slowly got up the stairs while still keeping the spell active, and the mugger turned around to face him.

"You just give me that bracelet back, please," Danny demanded.

Greed got away from the turnstile and held out his switchblade. "You better run back to your girlfriend," he said and extended the blade.

Danny shook his head. "Believe me, I wish she was..." He soon paused in mid-sentence at the mention of June being his girlfriend. To him, it sounded good. "You thought she was my girlfriend?" The mugger only stared at him confusedly. "Really? Is that the kind of vibe you got?"

"You talk too much. Shut up!"

Danny then pointed out his ring, making the emerald glow. A trash bin behind the mugger then levitated in the air towards him. Moving his hand around, Danny made the trash bin follow his movements.

"What are you doing?" said Greed.

Danny tried to feign ignorance by saying, "I have no idea what you're referring to. I honestly..."

Without knowing it, Danny then cast another spell and made the lid of the trash bin light on fire. Greed turned around and saw the object floating before him and also burning, making him yelp in surprise. Danny could only put his hand over his eyes over having little control of his magic.

"Whoa!" said Greed. "You seein' this?"

Danny thought he should no longer waste any time. With a smile he said, "Heads up."

With a pull of his arm, Danny pulled the trash bin toward him and made it crash into the side of the mugger's head, knocking him to the floor unconscious. The fire was extinguished and the trash bin was set back onto the floor.

Danny then walked back down to the subway platform with June's purse around his shoulder. He could see her running with two police officers, so he quickly hid the purse behind his back as he made his way over to the girl while the cops ran up the stairs to apprehend the mugger.

"Are you okay?" said June in a concerned voice.

"Yeah," replied Danny. "Here you go. Your grandmother's bracelet."

June went wide eyed when Danny presented to her the purse and the bracelet just as a subway came rushing on the track. She thought she had lost it forever but here it was, brought back to her by her classmate.

"How did you do that?" asked June. "That guy was huge."

Thinking of a reasonable explanation, Danny said, "I've been doing a lot of cardio, uh, cardio boxing lately." He then brought up his fists. "Let me introduce Thunder, Lightning."

June just gave the young man a complacent stare as the subway finally stopped before her. "Something about you seems different," she said.

"I'm wearing new shoes," said Danny.

June looked down and saw they weren't the same shoes Danny wore last time. "Nice," she complimented.

"Thank you. This your train?"

June turned to see the sign. "Yes." She walked into the train's car and realized she never expressed her gratitude for Danny returning her possessions. "Thank you."

"I just want to tell you that, uh, if you want me to help you with your midterms, come by my lab. I'll text you the address."

The woman was flattered by the offer. "Yes, yes, that would be great."

"Yeah?"

"Tomorrow?"

Danny smiled and said, "It's a date."

June gave a weird smile back to the young man, and then he realized what he just said.

Shaking his hands, Danny explained, "No, no, no. It's not a date! It's a date like an appointment." The subway's doors soon closed. "It's a date... No. A date like an appointment!"

June laughed over the man's silliness. She understood what Danny meant but she couldn't help but laugh. No matter what he said, she would still go see him for their date.

Danny could only watch as the subway train left. He felt glad for what he did and now he would get to see June again in private. Unknown to him, his master Aerrow was there on the platform.

"Love is a distraction," said the sorcerer, making the young man turn around in shock. "Sorcery requires complete focus." He then tilted his head behind him. "Let's go, Thunder and Lightning. There's more to learn."

Aerrow walked away while Danny stood there. To him, love was just as important as sorcery and he hoped his master would see that.

* * *

><p>BlueTiger321: Wow! Nice job, Danny!<p>

Danny: Aw, it was nothing.

June: Don't say that! You're my hero!

Danny: Thanks, June. Now I've gotta get back to training in my old man shoes.

Aerrow: Hey! Don't talk bad about the shoes. You'll need them to learn magic, unless you want to take another plasma bolt to your special area!

Danny: -_-U Don't remind me!

BlueTiger321: Well folks, stay tuned for the next action-packed chapter. And I should point out that my choice in Aerrow's last name is a reference to him being a descendant of Lightning Strike in _Storm Hawks_. So, until next time...

Aerrow, Danny and June: Read and review!


	6. Chapter 5: The Truth

Chapter 5: The Truth

BlueTiger321: Well, so now we'll get to see if Danny will finally be able to impress June. But what about the Cyclonians? What are they up to this time? Let's find out! Once again, credit goes to LyricsFreak for having the lyrics to the song used in this chapter.

* * *

><p>The next day on the lower corner of Manhattan, people were busily walking through Bowling Green Park to go about their business like it was any other day. Some people walked past the <em>Charging Bull<em> sculpture while walking, admiring its lifelike detail and its bronze exterior.

Dark Ace walked next to the sculpture, taking in the scenery. The way the buildings were shaped made it an ideal setting for what his master attempted to do over a thousand years ago.

"This is perfect," said the sorcerer. "The Rising will happen here." He was talking like he was expecting someone to listen to him. "We'll use their satellite dishes on the rooftops." Sticking up his cane, he pointed to each of the buildings while saying, "There, there, and there." Turning back down he said, "Get it done."

Dark Ace looked to see Jack if he was paying attention, but then he cast a spiteful gaze when he saw his fellow Cyclonian was talking to citizens who flocked around him. Since he was a famous magician, he couldn't help but take pleasure in the fandom.

"My 'Best of' DVD comes out next month," said Jack. He then went on to sign autographs while one tourist went so far as to take a picture of him.

Jack looked out to see Dark Ace give him a displeased look, which meant he would have to drop his routine and get back to the serious business.

"Here we go. All right, move," said Jack, pushing his way past the crowd to Dark Ace. "Sorry about that. It's just nice for them to see a genuine icon like me."

"Fortunately," said Dark Ace, "they'll all be dead soon." Jack frowned at the thought of all his fans dead. "And before that, we need to find the boy."

"Well, how do we do that?"

Dark Ace looked at the _Charging Bull_ and stuck his hand onto its side, making a clicking noise as he attached something to it. "We'll wait until he's alone."

The two Cyclonians walked out of Bowling Green with their goal set. On the side of the sculpture was a fridge magnet with the words _NYU_ written on it. Dark Ace took it from Danny's apartment and knew exactly where to find him.

* * *

><p>Back in Danny's lab, the sorcerer was once again instructing his apprentice on sorcery. The red-haired man was sitting neatly in a chair that was levitating with two other chairs revolving around him. While this was happening, he read from a book while giving his instructions.<p>

"Now, focus on control," said Aerrow. "Set me down slow and steady."

Danny was inside the Merlin Circle, extending his hand and making the emerald on his sorcerer's ring glow as he concentrated on the spell. He was doing perfectly fine until there was a knock at the door. The sound made Danny break his concentration and so he exhaled his breath and made Aerrow and the chairs drop to the floor. The sorcerer was now unsatisfied with the way his apprentice handled his last action.

"Danny? It's June," cried the woman behind the door.

The young man looked at his watch and realized it was time for him and June to meet. "Uh, I'll be back shortly," he told his master while running towards the stairs. "Could you please hide? Hide now. Please."

Aerrow watched Danny head up the stairs. He explicitly told him to focus on sorcery instead of love, and now he could see he was fooling around. "Danny, get back here," he ordered. "We have important work to do."

"Knock, knock," said June.

"Yeah," answered Danny, ignoring the calls from Aerrow.

The young man went up and unlocked the door, letting June inside.

"Hi," said the girl.

"Hi," the boy said back. He knew his master was going to be upset if he let June inside so he tried suggesting another place. "We should go. A library, anyplace..."

"Danny?" called Aerrow.

Upon hearing his master, Danny closed his eyes in embarrassment as he knew Aerrow would try to mess things up between him and June.

The sorcerer walked up to the two and said, "Is that company I hear?"

"Uh, yeah," replied Danny. "Fine, um, okay. June, this is my..." He paused while trying to find the right word to call the red-haired man.

"Uncle," Aerrow finished. "Uncle Aerrow."

June looked at the two of them and thought it odd, thinking that this man looked kind of young to be this boy's uncle, but then decided she was in no position to judge.

"Hey, Danny, I'm confused," said the man. "I thought you and I were staying in together."

"Oh," said June, "if this is a bad time, I can come back."

"Yes, actually," said Aerrow.

"No, no," said Danny. He turned to his master. "Uncle, you and I have plans for later on." He turned back to the girl. "June, let's just get out of here."

Well, Aerrow thought, if this is the way Danny wanted to play, then he would fool around as well. "You know what?" he said. "It's all right, because I just remembered I have to go into town to pick up your anti-itch cream." This made Danny throw up his hands in embarrassment. "So, you two stay here." He then turned to June and said, "Pleasure to meet you."

Aerrow then left while Danny put his hands over his eyes after his master purposely made him look like an idiot.

* * *

><p>The sorcerer drove his Phantom back to the area where his shop once stood. He figured as long as Danny was doing his own thing, then he should come back to this place and get something he left there.<p>

The Phantom stopped in the alleyway and Aerrow looked into the electronics store. The one thing he left behind was something he could never forget because it involved the only person he truly cared about more than anything in the world.

Aerrow entered the store's basement after placing an invisibility spell over himself to not alert anyone else in the building. He descended the staircase and headed for the spot where he put the Encantus. After moving a few charts out of the way from the wall, he moved his hands over the bricks while casting a spell, moving the dust away and opening the secret compartment.

The man reached in and pulled out a gray bag that he opened up and pulled out a scroll. On the sheet was an illustration of a person directing his hands onto the body of another person, fusing the two of them together. Aerrow knew this was the spell that only one sorcerer in history had ever been able to successfully cast, and now he was far away from her.

Aerrow rolled the scroll back up and placed it back in the bag. He then brought up a smaller red bag tied by a rope. Untying the knot, he opened it up to reveal a beautiful diamond necklace.

The man knew it would eventually come to the time when the one he cared about would receive this gift, and he also knew that it would eventually come to making his ultimate decision.

* * *

><p>Danny and June were still together in the boy's lab. He had something amazing to show to her and he couldn't wait to see the look on her face when she finally saw it.<p>

The young man made grunting noises as he was pulling a large cable over to the centre of the room where a metal cage sat above the Merlin Circle. Hopefully, he thought, June would see it as a regular carving made by the people who designed the station.

"Okay, enough with the studying," said Danny. "There's something I want to show you."

June looked at Danny's equipment. "What are these things?" she asked.

"Tesla coils." The young man was busily plugging in the cables as he spoke. "I was using them to, uh, generate something called plasma." He then watched as June stared at the large fan. "The thing is, I got so, uh, fixated on the technical aspects of it that I almost didn't notice something kind of, uh, beautiful."

Danny was finished plugging in everything, so he stepped into the cage and closed the door. He opened the door as he realized that the girl had to be with him in there to see the presentation.

"I think you'd better step into my cage," said Danny.

"Okay," said June, "it's definitely the first time anyone has said that to me."

The young man laughed at the comment and closed the door once June was in the cage with him. "I'm not surprised." He then pointed over to the front of the cage. "Just hold on to this bar, please." The girl pointed and he replied, "Both hands. Yep."

Everything was now set, so Danny looked down and turned a knob. "Okay," he said, making the lights in the room turn off. He proceeded by tapping keys on his laptop. "Okay, hold on tight and, uh, enjoy the show."

The Tesla coils around the room then suddenly fired off bolts of electricity. June yelped in surprise at first, and then steadily watched the lightning dance around her, bouncing off the cage. She soon noticed that each time a bolt was fired out it made a sound. The sounds melded together in such a way that it created music.

"Oh, my gosh," said June. "How is this possible?"

Danny replied, "The coils are firing at such a high frequency that the sparks literally create soundwaves as they fly through the air, which is nerdy." He said the last word like it was funny and made June laugh.

The young man shut off the Tesla coils and hit a few more keys on his laptop. The bolts of electricity fired off again and this time made soundwaves that were similar to a certain song.

June watched the display, and then her mouth went wide as she recognized the song as _Secrets_ by One Republic. "You _were_ listening," she said. "I played this song the other night."

"These coils are my life," said Danny. "Two years I'm down here working with them, and they're making their own music and it was lost on me. I was never able to appreciate it... until I met you, and heard you talking about music on your radio show, and..."

June was now truly impressed by this boy. She never thought that her music would have such an impact on him that he would be able to apply it to his own passion. Now she felt that there was some kind of connection between him and her.

Danny listened to himself talk on and on, thinking it was pointless to keep trying to explain. He looked up and said, "I'm sappy."

The bolts continued firing off while the two remembered the lyrics in their minds:

_Tell me what you want to hear_

_Something that will light those ears_

_Sick of all the insinceres_

_I'm gonna give all my secrets away_

_This time, don't need another perfect lie_

_Don't care if critics never jump in line_

_I'm gonna give all my secrets away_

* * *

><p>Later that day, Danny and June walked to the gymnasium of New York University while they were chatting amongst themselves. To the young man it had been a great time since he got to be with the woman he cared about and show her something incredible, and now he felt like he was finally having a connection with her. To the girl she could see that this man was still like the boy so many years ago, and it was nice to see him for who he is.<p>

The young man held the door open for the woman and let her walk inside the building and then he followed after her. June kept walking with Danny until she reached the gym's yoga studio.

"This is me," said the girl.

Danny had to spend time with her again. "So," he said, "do you want to meet up later? Eight o' clock? My lab?"

"Yeah," she replied. "Yeah, that would be great."

"With me?"

June stared at the young man like she didn't quite understand the question. Who else would she be with in his lab? "With you? Yes," she replied.

Danny nodded, saying, "Making sure."

"I gotta... Yoga."

"Yeah, I've got to go to the bathroom."

The woman stepped into the studio while Danny ran off to the men's room. Once inside, he stood over a urinal to do his business. Meeting again with June suddenly made him so happy that he could no longer contain it. He then gleefully sang to himself.

_"I've got a date with a girl 'cause I'm awesome!"_ sang Danny.

The young man was so focused on going to the bathroom that he didn't recognize the sound of shoes clicking against the floor in the men's room. Standing across the room was Jack Spicer and he leaned against the wall.

"So you're the one," said the sorcerer.

Danny turned up once he was done and asked, "Excuse me?"

Jack then walked up to the boy. "Prime Merlinean, eh? You don't look like much."

The young man was worried that someone had found out his secret. He stood away from the urinal after zipping up his fly and then feigned ignorance by saying, "I... I don't actually know what you're talking about."

"Cool. Makes this easy." Jack then turned around and kicked up his boots. The result was the hand dryers suddenly turning on by themselves.

Danny was now shocked, seeing that this man was another sorcerer.

"Can't have anyone hearing your girly cries, right?" said Jack.

"I don't actually know who you are," said Danny.

The sorcerer walked off to the lockers at the back of the room but then turned around when he heard that someone didn't know of him. "Really, you don't recognize me?" he asked, feeling slightly insulted.

Danny then took a wild guess based on Jack's appearance. "Are you in Depeche Mode?"

Jack then bit his lower lip in anger and grabbed Danny's shirt, pulling him over to the adjacent wall.

"What... what..." shouted Danny. He was then lifted higher above the wall and stared down at the man in fear.

"What do you weigh," said Jack, "like one-twenty?"

"Whoa! What the..." said Danny. He was then left on the spot above the wall by Jack's magic. "This is high school all over again."

Jack snapped his fingers and made Danny drop to the floor, making the young man yelp upon hitting the tiles.

"All right, I'll tell you what," said the sorcerer. "Hit me with your best shot, your most powerful spell."

Danny got up and said, "Okay." Since Aerrow taught him all kinds of spells, he thought, he would happily oblige with his demented psychopath.

"Get your ring out. Put it on," said Jack. He watched as Danny did what he said. "Good boy." The sorcerer then spread out his arms, giving the boy a wide target to let him cast his spell.

"Okay," said Danny, his voice full of determination. He brought his hands together and then shot them out towards Jack.

The Cyclonian could sense that no magic was coming after him, so he decided to patronize the boy by feigning injury. "Oh!" he cried. "No, I'm joking."

Danny could not understand what he did wrong. "Nothing. Nothing is happening," he said in frustration.

"Have you cleared your mind?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure."

"That's nerves and it's the pressure," explained Jack.

"I've got nothing happening. I'm new at this."

"The ring's on. Take the ring off."

"Take off the ring?" Danny knew that Aerrow said that a sorcerer is nothing without his ring, so he definitely didn't want to do as he was told against another sorcerer.

"Yeah," said Jack, "it doesn't help me..."

"Enough, you idiot," said another voice. The two men looked at the entrance to see Dark Ace enter the men's room. Turning to his fellow Cyclonian, the man said, "Watch the door."

Jack walked away from Danny, and the young man was left paralyzed to see Dark Ace walk up to him and give him a stern look. Even with all the training he received, he still was no match for a master like Dark Ace, so Danny felt like he was now in deep trouble.

"You," said Danny.

The young man felt his options were limited so he decided to run away. Dark Ace already intercepted the boy by holding up his cane, making the red crystal glow. Danny then stopped in his tracks when he found that he no longer had control of his body and was being dragged back by some unseen force.

"Oh, no!" shouted the boy.

Danny was brought back to Dark Ace, standing upright and unable to move from the spell.

"Hello, Danny," Dark Ace said casually.

"Hi," replied Danny.

"So, Danny." The man then pressed his cane on Danny's left shoulder and made him walk backwards into the wall where he remained pinned by the spell.

"Oh, man," the young man said worriedly.

"I'm going to kill you," said the sorcerer. "Oh, yes, right here in this dismal bathroom. It's not very classy, but there you go. But before we get to that unpleasantness, you're going to tell me where the Grimhold is."

Danny paused, knowing not to tell this man the location of the doll as he was warned by Aerrow.

"Where is she?" Dark Ace demanded.

The young man was now confused by the question. "She?" he asked.

Dark Ace opened his eyes upon finding out that Danny had no idea who was in the Grimhold. "He hasn't told you, has he?" he said. "The truth about who's inside the doll?" He then shook his head in feeling some slight pity for the boy. "Sweetheart, you've put your faith in the wrong man."

Still keeping Danny pinned to the wall with magic, Dark Ace brought up his cane. "Tell me," he said, "have you ever been in love?"

"I, uh..." Danny said. He was afraid of saying he was in love for June's protection.

"Yeah," Dark Ace said, noticing the boy's pause. "You're in love right now. I can see it in your eyes." He watched Danny shake his head. "No, no, no, no. Don't deny it. I wonder what would happen... if you lost her."

Danny was about to say something when Dark Ace brought his cane up to his mouth. "Shut up," said the sorcerer. "You'd be no better than the rest of us."

The Cyclonian walked away from Danny, still keeping him stuck to the wall with his spell. "Where is the Grimhold?" He was now done with playing games; he demanded answers.

Danny felt terrible for never having been told the truth by his master, but he still couldn't let this man free his fellow sorcerers. "I don't know," he said.

Smiling, Dark Ace said, "Oh, Danny, you really are the most dreadful liar."

"That's what I keep telling him," said another voice.

Dark Ace quickly turned around to see Aerrow standing at the entrance, and he held Jack in the air with a spell, who was struggling with all his might against it.

"Want your guy back?" said Aerrow. He then violently threw his hand forward and made Jack crash into the lockers.

"Oh!" Danny exclaimed.

Thinking fast, Aerrow turned to the mirror on the adjacent wall and placed his hand over it, making the surface ripple like a leaf falling on a pond. Dark Ace then rushed in with his fist extended, but then Aerrow ducked under the traitor's attack and then countered with a punch to the Cyclonian's face. Dark Ace was forced over to the mirror by Aerrow but managed to struggle against his former friend and get away from the spell.

"It's been a while since I've seen the Hungarian Mirror Trap," said Dark Ace.

The evil sorcerer then brought his head back and hit Aerrow in the nose where he followed up by jamming his cane into the red-haired man's stomach and then hitting his back. Dark Ace was now going to push his former friend into his own magical trap, but Aerrow managed to bring up his hands to the walls on the side to prevent himself from going into the mirror.

"I guess I'm just old-fashioned," said Aerrow.

The red-haired man elbowed the Cyclonian's stomach where he followed up with another fist to his face and tried once again pushing him into the mirror. The two sorcerers were now locked in a tight grasp over each other's body as they tried so hard to push the other one into the trap.

Meanwhile, Jack had gotten up and was preparing to cast a spell. Danny couldn't do anything to stop it since he was still stuck to the wall by Dark Ace's magic, but he could at least warn his master.

"Aerrow, look out!" shouted the young man.

Aerrow turned his head and ran out of the way just before Jack fired his spell. A blast of energy was released from the Cyclonian's hands that struck Dark Ace and launched him into the mirror.

Once that was done, Aerrow rolled onto his knees and snapped his fingers. A small explosion of light hit Jack in his side and threw him into one of the stalls where he was knocked unconscious. Danny shouted after witnessing the furious battle and then realized he was finally free.

"What are you doing here, Danny?" asked Aerrow. He explicitly told his apprentice to stay in the lab, and now he could see him disobeying his orders. This would definitely make him displeased.

The sorcerer and his apprentice walked out of the bathroom and down a flight of stairs. Danny explained what happened as they headed for the exit.

"Dark Ace was trying to kill me," said the boy.

"His moral compass doesn't exactly point north," said Aerrow.

"Yeah, well, what about yours? Huh? You haven't been completely truthful with me."

Aerrow stopped before he reached the next set of stairs, and then he turned around to face Danny. He hoped that there would be a good time to bring up his real mission, but now he could see that it was never going to happen.

Danny pointed back upstairs and said, "That guy called me the Prime Merlinean. Aerrow, what is that? Now, I'm not doing anything else until you start being truthful with me about what's going on." Taking in a deep breath, he then asked, "Who is in that Grimhold?"

The sorcerer knew that if he wanted his apprentice to stay with him, then he would have to tell Danny everything. "Master Cyclonis," he replied.

* * *

><p>Back in the men's room, Dark Ace was now trapped in the mirror dimension as the result of Aerrow's spell. He then saw his hope for escape when a man named Virgil Hawkins (<em>Static Shock<em>) walked towards the sink next to the mirror to wash his hands.

The Cyclonian tapped his cane on the mirror, making waves stretch out with each tap. "Wake up that moron in stall number three for me, would you?" he asked.

Virgil saw the image in the mirror, but then he turned to his right and saw no person standing there to cast the reflection. Seeing this made the man try to figure out what was going on but he ended up fainting to the floor from shock.

"Oh, for heaven's sake," said Dark Ace, shaking his head in irritation.

* * *

><p>Back in Danny's lab, Aerrow sat with Danny as he opened up his Encantus. There on the page was an illustration of Master Cyclonis holding out her hands as she cast a spell with a giant pentagram in the sky.<p>

"Cyclonis," said Aerrow as he turned the page over to the illustration for the most dangerous spell in sorcery. "She was making preparations for The Rising, something that would enable her to enslave mankind by resurrecting dead Cyclonian sorcerers."

The Grimhold was brought out of its invisibility spell and sat before Danny. He looked at the image of the girl on the front and asked, "So, after the demon girl, there's another doll that contains the greatest evil the world has ever known?"

"She's in the last doll," replied the sorcerer.

"And what does it have to do with this, uh, Prime Merlinean?"

"Merlin had three apprentices. I was one of them."

Danny opened his eyes wide when he thought he heard what his master said. "You were Merlin's apprentice?"

"He cast a spell to keep us from aging until we found the sorcerer who would inherit his power—and his dragon ring."

Danny looked on his hand to look at the ring given to him by Aerrow. He had no idea that this ring once belonged to the legendary sorcerer, Merlin. This made the young man wonder if he had been given a great blessing or if it was a stroke of luck.

"Some part of you, no matter how small," explained Aerrow, "must share the same blood."

"As Merlin?" said Danny. Now the news of being related to Merlin was truly unbelievable.

"Great men have always been called. This is your calling." The man then got off his chair. "Merlin said, 'The only one who will ever be able to destroy Master Cyclonis once and for all is the Prime Merlinean.'"

"So I'm supposed to save the world." The young man felt like a great burden was now placed on him. "I... I just don't think I'm up for that."

Aerrow looked down at his apprentice with a stern face. "Do you think I've been teaching you magic tricks for some little girl's tea party?"

Danny looked down, feeling a sense of naïveté wash over him. All this time he thought sorcery was a useful skill to have, but now he feels like he had gotten himself into more than he could handle.

The sorcerer walked over to the Merlin Circle and said, "When you stepped into this circle, I told you there was no going back." Aerrow made flames spread around the outer circle the moment his feet were inside. "You took an oath!" He watched his apprentice stare at him. "I have been searching a thousand years for you, fighting Cyclonians, protecting the Grimhold. You're going to set me free. You have to become the Prime Merlinean. And I'm not asking."

Danny looked down at his ring after hearing the lecture from his master. If he was destined to become the Prime Merlinean, then he would do it not just for Aerrow's sake but for the sake of everyone close to him, which included June.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile in New York University, Dark Ace and Jack were walking through the hallways after the traitor had been freed from the mirror dimension. They had lost Danny but they figured there would be another way to find him. Since Dark Ace knew the boy wouldn't be at his apartment, he would have to find if there was another place he would be.<p>

The two Cyclonians got up to the Administration Desk where a man named Apu Nahasapeemapetilon was sitting. Dark Ace tapped the top of a computer screen to get the man's attention.

"I have a student who's failing my class," said the sorcerer. "I need his file."

"First I'll need to see your faculty identification card," replied Apu.

Dark Ace only smirked as he brought up his cane and made the crystal glow as he held it up to Apu's face. "You don't need to see my faculty identification card," he said.

Apu stared into the crystal and was now held under a trance by the sorcerer's spell. "I don't need your faculty identification card," he responded.

Jack smiled as he remembered something like this from a certain movie. Waving his hand in front of his face, he then impersonated Obi-Wan Kenobi as he said, "'These are not the droids you're looking for.'" Laughter then escaped his lips.

Dark Ace only shifted his eyes over to his associate and gave him a menacing stare. Jack then stopped laughing when he saw the man didn't share his sense of humour.

Apu brought up the file of Danny Fenton on his computer. "Here it is," he said. "He has an unauthorized lab space."

Next to a photo of Danny was the address of his lab, which said _225 Washington Place, New York, NY, 10003._ Now Dark Ace would finally find the Grimhold.

* * *

><p>BlueTiger321: Oh no, now Dark Ace knows where Danny's lab is! Is this the end?<p>

Dark Ace: Yes, it is!

Jack: Um, I don't think we're supposed to tell the readers what's going to happen.

Dark Ace: Shut up, you twit!

Jack: *looking down in shame* Yes, sir.

BlueTiger321: Well folks, stay tuned for the next chapter, because it's going to include the famous segment from _Fantasia_ that this movie was based off of. So, until next time...

Dark Ace: Read and review, or else!


	7. Chapter 6: Runaway Magic

Chapter 6: Runaway Magic

BlueTiger321: All right! It's now time for probably the most well-known scene from this movie! I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about! So, on with the story.

* * *

><p>Danny groaned as he sat on a staircase after enduring another training session with Aerrow. He took off his catcher's mask and placed it next to him on the step. Becoming the Prime Merlinean was tiring work for the young man, both physically and mentally. Danny did not know if he could really take any more of this.<p>

"Okay," said the boy, "so, how will I know when I'm it? The Prime Merlinean?"

Aerrow was sitting at the desk reading after giving his lesson. "The Prime Merlinean will become so powerful within," he replied, "he no longer needs his ring to cast magic." He then turned to face his apprentice. "When you can do that, you're ready to take on Cyclonis."

Danny nodded when he understood. He then heard a sound and looked up to see his dog Cujo licking the cables that were connected into an assortment of outlets. The boy was surprised to see his pet was here, but was even more concerned for the dog's safety.

"Cujo!" cried Danny. "What is he doing here, anyway?" The only response he got was Aerrow fingering him to come over to the desk. So Danny got up and walked over to the man. "This should be good," he said.

"Schematic for a fusion spell," said Aerrow. It was then revealed that he was researching the scroll he retrieved from his bag. "The merging of two souls into one physical body. I've only ever seen one sorcerer successfully pull off human fusion."

Danny didn't understand what this had to do with his pet. "And Cujo is here for...?"

"Practice."

"Are you trying to tell me you're trying to possess Cujo?"

Aerrow looked at the dog along with Danny. He could see that may not be a wise decision as the dog was licking the cables. The man could also hear a slight toot coming from the dog's rear.

"Yeah," Aerrow said, having second thoughts. "I'm not so sure it's the best idea, either."

"No," agreed Danny.

The sorcerer got up from his chair to try thinking of another plan. Danny walked off and stared at the clock from the wall. The current time was 7:45 p.m., which meant that June would be arriving any minute.

"Oh, man," said Danny. He turned to Aerrow, hoping to have some time off. "June's coming now, and I'm standing in a puddle of pop." Looking down, he saw a spilled soda can under his shoes. "I need to stop and clean."

"We're not done training," said Aerrow.

The young man exhaled his breath. "Aerrow, I've been waiting for ten years to see this girl again. Do you have any idea what it's like?"

Aerrow paused. He did know what it was like to be with the one he cared about, but he also knew that he couldn't let his personal feelings cloud his vision from seeing his responsibilities. Still, he decided to give his apprentice the benefit of the doubt and let him live his dream, but only for this one time.

"When I come back, you better be focused," said the sorcerer, and then walked away.

Danny felt grateful for his master giving him some time off, and so he ran off to the cleaning cabinet to pick up a broom, a mop, a push broom and a jug of floor cleaner. He then tried his best to juggle the objects in his arms.

"Ow," the boy said as the push broom smacked the side of his head.

Danny went over to the soda puddle, picking up the can and dabbing it with the mop. "This is really sticky," he whined. The young man jabbed the floor with the mop and then turned to the clock to see it was already 7:50 p.m. "I'm doomed."

The boy looked around his lab to see computer equipment cluttered over the surface of a desk and a pizza box with one slice remaining on the floor. "This..." he said. If June saw this, he thought, she was going to think he was a slob. Danny was even more flustered when he saw Cujo lift up his leg and urinate over the cables.

"Thank you, thank you," the young man said sarcastically to his pet as he gave an a-okay sign with his hand.

Danny felt like he was in real trouble now. There wasn't enough time to clean up his lab and to get himself prepared. Then he looked at his Encantus and suddenly had an idea. With his sorcery skills, maybe he could get the cleaning to do itself.

The book was opened and Danny looked at the page while he stood in the Merlin Circle with a crimson flame burning around one of the outer circles. Danny shifted his head around while preparing himself. Concentrating hard, he lifted his hand and made a mop stand up on its own.

The young man then swung his finger around like a conductor leading an orchestra that made the mop clean the floor.

Danny then directed the magic over to a broom. The cleaning object soon kicked the push broom with its bristles that made it come to life as well. All three of them were now cleaning the floors, just like Danny ordered them to do.

Danny wasn't finished yet. He commanded another mop to spin around and clean the spot where Cujo urinated. The dog groaned and looked to see the mop clean up his stain.

Still using his magic, Danny turned on the faucet and commanded two sponges to clean up a stack of dirty dishes. After seeing his spell working, the young man stepped out of the Merlin Circle and headed for the bathroom to get himself ready for his date.

What Danny didn't realize was that the magic was now starting to grow, thinking it was supposed to continue its work. The spell went over to the cleaning cabinet where every other mop and broom was brought to life. Each object then marched out and was ordered to clean as instructed by the sorcerer's spell.

A mop went even so far as to scrub Cujo with a sponge and toothbrush. The dog only groaned and did nothing as it lied on the floor while being given a bath.

Eventually, a pair of mops held up buckets with their strings and dumped water onto more buckets that were carried out by more mops. The cleaning was going to get done, and they would not stop until the sorcerer commanded it was enough.

All the sponges from the sink then hopped off to begin their cleaning regimen as the water was now having soap added to it. The water from the sink was so full that it started dripping from the edges and onto the floor.

Meanwhile, Danny was in the shower, washing his hair and body to prepare for June. After he was all clean and dry, he changed into a fresh set of clothes and then went to brush his teeth. The young man walked out of the bathroom, expecting to find his lab clean.

What Danny saw upon stepping out made him feel like his heart sank into his chest. Dozens of mops and brooms were now cleaning the lab along with his Tesla coil equipment, and the entire floor was now flooded with water. The young man couldn't believe that he let his magic get out of control like this, and he had to do something before the whole station was underwater, or worse.

Holding out his ring, Danny said, "I command you to stop!"

Every object that was cleaning stopped and then turned to Danny. The boy smiled when he saw his plan had worked, but then Danny cringed as a squirt bottle sprayed window cleaner in his face. The boy almost stumbled backwards and saw that everything resumed cleaning.

"Oh, no, man!" cried the young man. If he couldn't make everything stop with magic, then he would have to do it manually.

Rushing onto the floor, Danny grabbed one mop but it slipped out of his grasp. Grabbing another mop, Danny lifted it high off the floor and threw it to his left only to watch it get back to cleaning.

Somewhere else, the magic spread to some power outlets that made them all open their holes like eyes and mouths. The water was getting close to them and they would not be able to control themselves once they were wet.

Danny rushed over to the sink to see it overflowing with water. He turned the knobs to shut off the faucet. Much to his chagrin, nothing happened as the water kept flowing.

The outlets cried out as they were now drenched with water and gave off small sparks.

Danny tried to control the water by holding a bucket over the faucet but then felt something wet slapping him on his back. He turned around to see it was a mop. The boy grabbed the mop's handle and decided to take care of this once and for all. Danny turned to find one thing to finally stop the mops: a fire axe.

Grabbing the axe from the wall, Danny held it high above his head to chop up the mop on a table but saw the mop spread out its strings to prevent the sharp edge from cutting it.

Danny continued his chopping when a knock came at the door. He turned his head and opened his eyes wide when he knew it was June. If she came in and saw what was happening, he knew he'd be in serious trouble.

"June," he said worriedly.

Danny rushed over to the door and opened it.

"Hi," said June.

"Hi," the young man said. "You're on time."

"You forgot?"

"No, no, no." As the two of them were talking, two mops crawled their way up the stairs towards Danny. The young man felt the strings of the mops tug on him as he said, "I didn't... Ahhh... forget."

"Is everything okay?" asked June, not seeing a mop string inch its way behind Danny's head.

"What, me?" replied Danny. "How are you doing?" He once again said, "Ahhh!" as the mops tugged on his legs.

"I'm good, I'm good."

Danny batted away a string with his head as it tugged on his ear. "Would you please stop that?" he said to the mop. "Will you—" The boy paused as a mop jammed its way up his rear, making him open his mouth and grunt.

June thought that it was directed towards her. She gave Danny an odd look.

The young man knew that he had to get this problem under control and he could not let June see it. Looking down he said, "It's probably best for you to leave." He then realized what he said to her. "What am I saying?"

June could see that she came at a bad time. "Okay," she replied. "Okay, I will go."

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm having issues." The boy then closed the door in front of the girl, and June was left wondering what made Danny act like this.

Danny only put his hands to his face and shake his head in frustration. He had just blown off the woman he cared for and he thought she would take it as a bad sign. The mops then mimicked Danny's actions with their strings.

The young man rushed back down to his lab to get everything under control. He made a big splash when his feet touched down in the water while his Encantus drifted by him. His eyes were now open with fright as the mops were cleaning the Tesla coils and making them give off sparks.

"My coils!" shouted Danny. He knew that water conducts electricity, and it would spread throughout the lab with this much water.

The boy climbed onto the Tesla coil to protect it, but the mops kept on cleaning it. Other mops eventually climbed onto the cage and made it tip. The result was Danny's computer electrocuting the water. Now Danny was in trouble. He was on the safety of the platform but one step into the water and he would be dead.

The base of the Tesla coil then ripped apart from Danny's weight pulling against it, and the young man screamed as he feared he would now plunge into the electrified water. Luckily, part of his shirt was stuck on the coil and kept him from falling but he was dangerously close to the water.

In that moment, Aerrow returned to the lab and was shocked to see all the chaos before him. He spread out his hands and shouted, "Disperse!"

The sorcerer cast a spell that made every object brought to life drop to the floor. He then waved around his hands to make the electrified water disappear.

Danny looked up and gave a sheepish smile to his master. He knew he would have to explain for everything and it was going to get ugly. The boy watched as Aerrow shot out his fingers and made Danny drop to the floor hard when it was safe, making him grunt in pain.

Aerrow was now furious with his apprentice. After watching Danny neglect his own spell, he didn't think this boy was worthy of being called a sorcerer, let alone to be called the Prime Merlinean. He was going to tell off this boy for his incompetence.

"You have abused the sacred art, and you have abused the Merlin Circle," Aerrow said scornfully.

Danny stood up after his master was just beginning to discipline him.

"Magic isn't a game. No shortcuts!" said the sorcerer. "Falling in that water and getting electrocuted, that's how a sorcerer loses his power!"

"What rule is that?" Danny asked angrily. "Fourteen? Twenty-seven? I can't even remember!"

Aerrow said nothing and only walked down the steps.

"What difference does it make if I can't even control a few mops?" The young man was now sick of remembering all these rules of becoming a sorcerer and now he no longer wanted to be a part of it.

"The stronger the man, the stronger the sorcerer," replied Aerrow.

Danny slapped his hands to his forehead. "Thank you," he said. "Thank you for another useless motto!"

"I have another one for you: You will not control your magic if you will not control yourself. You need to stop your worrying and start believing in yourself."

"Is that what you do?"

Aerrow got in his apprentice's face and said, "What I do isn't the point."

"I think it is," Danny retorted. "I'm convinced you exist purely to make my life a living hell."

The sorcerer gave the young man a mean look. He's went through so much torment of finding and training this boy that he felt he had no authority to lecture him about that.

"You don't know anything about a living hell," said Aerrow.

Danny looked away from the man. That response really infuriated him and he wasn't going to put up with this kind of abuse any longer.

The sorcerer then said, "You're making progress."

"No, I'm not making progress," Danny responded negatively. The boy walked off and took off his sorcerer's ring in front of Aerrow to prove his point.

"No ring, right?" Danny shot out his hand toward a chair, clearing his mind and trying to make it move, but the chair remained stationary. "No magic. I can't move the chairs. I can't do it."

The young man put the ring in his pocket and headed for the desk and took out his tennis shoes. "It's not me, Aerrow," he said. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry. I'm not it. I'm not a hero. I'm not the Prime Merlinean." He then took off the shoes given to him by the sorcerer. "I'm just a physics nerd who looks really, really stupid in these shoes."

Danny then put his tennis shoes back on and left the lab, leaving Aerrow alone to see his apprentice give up on fulfilling the prophecy.

* * *

><p>BlueTiger321: Oh no! Danny's given up on sorcery!<p>

Danny: Sorry, but this is my own decision.

Aerrow: Oh yeah? Well, my friends here seem to disagree. *makes the mops come back to life* Get him!

Danny: Oh, man! *runs away screaming as the mops chase after him*

BlueTiger321: O_OU Okay. Well folks, stay tuned for another exciting chapter. Until next time...

Aerrow: Read and review!

Danny: Help me!


	8. Chapter 7: The Chase

Chapter 7: The Chase

BlueTiger321: Well, so it seems Danny has given up on becoming a sorcerer. Will it last for long? Let's find out!

* * *

><p>Danny walked through the streets of New York as he contemplated everything that just happened: his mistake in creating a spell that almost got himself killed, his rejection towards June, and his argument with Aerrow. All these things weighed heavily on the poor boy, making him feel like he was not as good as he thought he was. To him, the night time was a perfect way to reflect his mood.<p>

The young man stopped on the street to let a jeep turn and then resumed his walking. All he wanted to do right now was to get his head clear and forget everything that just happened, as well as everything that happened in his life that led to this moment.

Danny kept walking and stopped as he stared into the window of a coffee shop. He smiled when he saw June inside laughing with her friends. Danny had been ecstatic about this girl ever since he first saw her as a boy, and now he no longer felt like he had any right to be with her when he suddenly blew her off like he did.

The boy frowned and walked away, not realizing June looked back at him through a mirror. She turned her head to see him leave and thought she should try talking with this boy to see what was wrong with him. June bade her friends a good night and then left the coffee shop to go after Danny.

* * *

><p>High above the city on the Chrysler Building, Danny stepped onto the balcony and looked over the railing. This was where he accepted the deal from Aerrow and where he thought his life had spiralled out of control.<p>

_I wish I never entered that store_, the young man thought.

Danny was now going to forget about all the promises he made to the sorcerer and to get back his normal life. He looked down at his dragon ring and removed it from his finger. All he had to do now was discard it and finally be free. Danny heavily weighed his options until he was sure this was what he wanted to do.

Just then, June stepped onto the balcony and watched Danny stand near the railing.

Danny was about to throw away the ring when he heard someone call out to him. "Danny," said June.

The young man turned around and saw the girl stare back at him with the ring still in his hand. He then placed it back in his pocket to keep June from getting any suspicions.

"What are you doing here?" asked Danny.

"I saw you outside the coffee shop, so I followed you," replied the woman, watching the young man put his hand over his eyes in embarrassment. "You looked a little more distressed than usual."

Danny faced the girl and said, "That bad, huh?"

"Did you really think that one botched date was gonna make me hate you forever?"

The boy paused at the question. He wanted everything to go perfect and he didn't see that June saw it as irrelevant. Nodding his head he replied, "Yeah."

"I do have to ask you this one thing," said June. "What are you doing up here?"

Danny exhaled his breath while trying to think of a feasible reason. "Yeah," he replied. "Uh, a friend of mine brought me here once."

"And the height doesn't bother you?"

Danny didn't know this was a problem for the girl. "Are you afraid of heights?" he asked.

"A little bit, yeah," June confessed.

"Trust me. Here, come on. Come on. You're good." The young man extended his hand to the woman and brought her over to the railing. "You're good."

"Uh, I don't know," said June as she was halfway there. Being this close to falling made her extremely nervous.

The girl decided to trust this boy and made her way over to the railing, and she finally exhaled her breath as if expecting something. Danny then showed her that there was nothing to be afraid of, and then he thought of the way Aerrow showed him that there was no reason to be afraid of magic. It was like the two incidences coincide with each other and it made the boy think about how there was no reason to be afraid if you only had faith in yourself.

"Wow," said June, looking out across the city.

"Yeah," said Danny. "Wow."

Turning to the boy, June said, "Do you remember when you drew King Kong on the bus window? And he lined up with the Empire State Building?"

Danny felt flattered at the mention of what he did as a child. "You remember that?" he said.

"It was cool. You saw the world in your own way."

"I was just trying to impress you," Danny said humbly.

June laughed. "Well, it worked. Not bad for a ten-year-old kid."

"Yeah, right. What happened?"

"What? What do you mean?"

"The bitter irony of the fact that ten-year-old me is far cooler than twenty-year-old me."

"I think twenty-year-old Danny is..." June paused while thinking of the right word. "He's all right."

Danny had to know what that meant. "Like 'all right' all right or 'all right!' all right?"

The girl laughed at the question, thinking that Danny was being his usual self—the boy she always admired. Sighing, she replied, "I think he is somewhere in the middle."

The young man nodded. "That's a diplomatic answer," he said. "And thank you."

Danny then figured if June saw him in this special way, then he was meant for something special—and now he knew that he had a major responsibility he would see was accomplished.

* * *

><p>Back in Danny's lab, Aerrow picked up the soaked Encantus from the floor, wiping off the water from the cover. The sorcerer felt glum after what he told his apprentice. Maybe, he thought, he was pretty hard on the boy but he had to be strict with him or else Danny might wind up doing the wrong thing.<p>

At that moment, the man saw the young man come down the steps.

"Hey," said the boy.

"Hello," said the man.

Danny leaned over the railing of the stairs as he spoke. "I'm sorry. I think you and I need to have a talk."

Looking up, Aerrow said, "No apology necessary. Let us move on." He was glad to see his apprentice was finally accepting his duties.

Danny then smirked. "You're a diamond, man," he said.

The sorcerer thought it was a bit strange Danny would say something like that, but then he glanced at the boy's hand and saw his fingernails were covered with black nail polish. Aerrow now knew this wasn't his apprentice. Before he could do anything, the imposter shot out his hands and released a blast of energy at Aerrow that sent him into the giant fan where the copper wrapped around his wrists and ankles to keep him from escaping.

The faker then removed his disguise as his skin turned white and his clothes turned into a black trench coat. Standing there was Jack Spicer. The Cyclonian ran his hand over his hair after changing back into himself.

"Surprisingly well done," said another voice. Aerrow looked up to see Dark Ace come down the stairs. "Now go find the Grimhold."

Jack did as he was told and searched the lab for the doll. Meanwhile, Dark Ace walked up to his former friend to confront him.

"You seem to have rather a soft spot for that boy," said the traitor. "Has Aerrow made a new friend?"

Jack eventually gave up on his search. "I don't see the Grimhold," he called.

"That's because you're using your eyes," said Dark Ace. "Clever Aerrow. Always up to his little tricks."

The evil sorcerer raised his cane and made the red crystal glow. He then released a cloud of black smoke and raised his hand, sending the smoke around the room. As Aerrow's enemies were focused on finding the doll, the sorcerer began to cast his own spell by making the copper around his wrists and ankles freeze and become brittle.

Dark Ace released another cloud of smoke that spread over a desk. His eyes gazed upon the smoke as it passed over an empty spot, but the smoke formed around like it passed over a small object. The sorcerer smiled as he recognized the shape as that of the Grimhold.

"Found it," said Jack, walking over to the desk.

Dark Ace was already one step ahead. Raising his cane, he made the doll visible and commanded it to fly over to him just before Jack was about to grab it. The albino-skinned man just narrowed his eyes in annoyance.

"It's lighter than I remember," Dark Ace said to Aerrow.

"We once fought together, Dark Ace," the red-haired man said.

"A lot's happened since those days."

Aerrow knew what his former friend meant. "This isn't about that."

"Oh, yes, it is, Aerrow." His face then showed rage. "It's always been about that. Piper chose you instead of me, the great Aerrow Strike, my best friend." The traitor then backed away and held up his cane. "Well, I'm going to let you watch me release Master Cyclonis; let you watch your world crumble into nothing!"

Aerrow watched as Dark Ace turned around, seeing this was his chance to strike. Pulling hard, he released his right hand from its restraint by breaking the fragile copper. Dark Ace turned his back and saw Aerrow shoot out his hand to fire a blast of energy, sending the Cyclonian screaming as he was thrown across the room.

The red-haired man broke the rest of the copper around his limbs and was now free, but Jack already took action. The Cyclonian sorcerer unleashed a blast of energy from both his hands that knocked Aerrow back into the fan. Aerrow retaliated by lifting his hand and blasting Jack away from him.

Dark Ace had recovered from the assault and finally had enough with Aerrow's interference. Now he was going to finish him off once and for all. The evil sorcerer brought four daggers out from within his armour and flung them at Aerrow with his magic.

Aerrow could do nothing but wait for the daggers to come as he was still recovering from Jack's attack. The man leaned his head away and expected his death to come, but then he saw that the daggers halted in mid-air a few inches away from his face.

Jack and Dark Ace were both perplexed by the sight. They then looked up to see Danny standing on the railing with his ring on his finger and saving his master with a spell. Aerrow looked up once the daggers fell to the floor. He was relieved to see his apprentice return and even more relieved to see that he hadn't given up on sorcery. The young man rushed down the stairs to be at Aerrow's side.

"Jack, let's go!" called Dark Ace.

The Cyclonians rushed out of the lab since they already had what they came for, and Danny helped his master get to his feet.

"Nice catch," said Aerrow.

"I owed you one," said Danny.

"They got the doll."

"Let's get it back."

Outside, Jack drove his silver SUV down the street to get as far away from Aerrow and Danny as possible. Not long afterward, the master drove his Phantom along with his apprentice to chase after the Cyclonians.

"Hang on," said Aerrow.

The Phantom reversed under the bridge and skid to a halt when it was on the street.

Danny, bringing along his pet, said, "Hang on, Cujo."

Aerrow put his car in drive and rushed down the street after his enemies. He was coming up to a red light and he could not let the SUV out of sight. Without warning, he drove into the wrong lane and rushed past the stopped cars as he headed into oncoming traffic. The drivers all honked their horns angrily after nearly avoiding a crash and Danny exclaimed in fright at seeing his master's determination to do anything.

As Jack drove, Dark Ace looked behind to see Aerrow and Danny chasing after them. It was now turning into a deadly game of cat and mouse on the streets. Jack weaved around traffic, creating chaos amongst the other drivers as they honked their horns.

"Go left," said Dark Ace, seeing an opening.

Jack nearly cut off a truck by making the turn and Aerrow soon followed after them. They had now turned onto a street that was packed with taxis. The sorcerer suspected this must had been the work of Dark Ace to camouflage himself.

"Whoa!" said Danny, seeing all the taxis. "What the..."

"Dark Ace!" Aerrow said irritatingly. "He's in here somewhere."

"Wait. He has the power to turn his car into a taxi?"

Aerrow looked out amongst the taxis to find his target, but then he got an idea. "Use your ring and lock in on the Grimhold," he said to his apprentice. "Remember, it moves with the ring."

Danny thought back and recalled how he moved the doll back in Aerrow's shop. "Okay, yeah," he said. "Right, right, right."

The young man brought out his hand and made the emerald on his dragon ring glow while he concentrated on finding the Grimhold. In the taxi with Dark Ace and Jack, the doll was lifted out of the man's hands and into the air. Danny then waved his hand and knocked the doll into Jack's head, making him crash his car into another taxi and letting out a furious honk.

Danny looked out and saw the crash. "Go! Go!" he shouted to Aerrow.

Aerrow stepped his foot on the gas and was now almost at the Cyclonians.

"Here they come!" said Jack.

Dark Ace already had an idea prepared. Taking his hand out the window and putting it on the roof of the taxi, he cast a spell that shifted the vehicle's form until it was now a black 2011 Ferrari F430. The faster car sped down the road and away from the Phantom.

"Whoa! What the heck!" cried Danny, amazed by the transformation.

Jack looked at the car's interior. "Nice one!" he exclaimed.

Aerrow was now prepared with his own strategy. Taking his hand out of the window and putting it on the roof of the car, he focused hard as he cast a spell. The sapphire on his hand was glowing as the car's exterior shifted around until it was now a blue motorcycle with the hawk insignia around a red shield on each side and two exhaust pipes that exhaled blue energy at the rear. The sorcerer was now driving an Air Skimmer III Ultra with Danny and Cujo sitting on the small cockpit to Aerrow's right.

Danny looked down to see that he was straddling on the small seat. "Hey!" he complained. "Why do I have to sit here? Isn't Radarr supposed to be the one who sits here?"

"Normally yes," replied Aerrow, "but you're kinda like my co-pilot in this story. Besides, the author wanted me to have my Skimmer for this chase."

Danny only rolled his eyes and held on tight as the Skimmer sped through the street. He then admired the Skimmer's appearance as he said, "Hey! Well, look at that."

"Hang on," said Aerrow.

The Skimmer had much more manoeuvrability than the Phantom, and Aerrow easily weaved his way through the other cars as he got closer to Dark Ace. The evil sorcerer looked behind to see that his former friend was gaining on him, so he had to think of a way to lose him.

"Oh, my God," said Danny upon getting close to the bumper of the Ferrari.

Dark Ace turned to Jack and said, "Take the tunnel."

Jack did as he was ordered and went through a one-way tunnel down the wrong way with Aerrow following him. Now Dark Ace knew he had the man where he wanted him.

Danny was now in a state of panic as cars rushed by him going the other way, their horns echoing throughout the tunnel. But Aerrow was already an adept driver and managed to swerve away from the oncoming vehicles without any damage to himself or his apprentice.

Dark Ace then put his plan into action. He brought out his cane and made the crystal glow. A cloud of white smoke was released that was headed straight for Aerrow and Danny.

"What is that, smoke?" Danny said worriedly.

Aerrow's vision was now impaired from the smoke. Narrowing his eyes, he managed to swerve away from a car. Jack looked back and laughed at the two pursuers for having been impeded while Dark Ace kept the smoke flying behind them.

Aerrow barely missed another car as Danny shouted, "Oh, come on!"

After missing another car, Aerrow and Danny were now free of the smoke as they exited the tunnel along with Dark Ace and Jack. The two of them were now side-by-side as they raced through the street.

Dark Ace looked ahead and saw two men lifting a large mirror on the sidewalk. This gave him another idea as he said, "Time for a little revenge."

The Cyclonian made the crystal on his cane glow as he sent a spell out from the car that nearly surprised Jack. The energy headed for the mirror that created the Hungarian Mirror Trap. Thinking fast, Jack shifted his Ferrari so it collided with Aerrow's Skimmer, making Danny shout and sending the two of them into the mirror.

Danny looked out and saw Times Square but all the neon signs and billboards were now reversed. He was so focused on his surroundings that he did not notice that he was also reversed as he was sitting on the left side of Aerrow.

"Uh," he asked confusedly, "what the heck is this?"

"Yes, we drove through a mirror," replied Aerrow, speeding his Skimmer along the mirrored street. "We're trapped in a reverse world."

"So...?"

"It is, it is. Dark Ace's payback for the bathroom mirror."

Danny was worried what would happen to them if they remained here so he was about to ask that question when Aerrow halted him.

"No, no," said the sorcerer. "We won't die as long as we get out of here soon."

"Okay."

"By driving through our own reflection."

"Fantastic," said Danny. He then looked out and saw the mirror-like reflection on the glass of a building. "There. In the window."

"This is it."

Aerrow drove towards the building to get out of the mirror dimension when Dark Ace saw the two were trying to escape. He then fired a spell from his cane that shattered the glass. Aerrow drove away as the glass shattered, but Danny was forced to shield himself with his arms to keep the shards from cutting him.

The sorcerer tried again, only to be stopped once more by Dark Ace destroying the glass from the other side. The third time Aerrow tried and again Dark Ace shattered the glass.

The evil sorcerer made a smirk as he destroyed the last glass on the building as Jack drove down Times Square. What Dark Ace didn't notice was that a large fragment of the glass still remained.

Aerrow looked up and saw the glass teetering as it was about to fall and figured it was large enough. This would be his only chance for him and his apprentice to get back to the real world. Danny looked up and saw it, thinking there was no way they would be able to get to the glass before it breaks.

"No, no, no, no, no," he said, thinking Aerrow was crazy. "You're not..."

"Here we go," Aerrow said smirking.

"We're not gonna make that!"

Aerrow made the Skimmer turn sharply as he picked up speed. But the glass fragment had finally taken all it could and fell from the building.

"We're not..." said Danny, and then shouted as Aerrow made the Skimmer go faster.

The sorcerer then activated a switch on his dash that made the Skimmer's wheels retract and the two sides fold out into a set of two wings on each side. The Skimmer flew through the air that headed for the glass and drove through before it shattered to the ground. Aerrow and Danny were now back in the real world once the glass broke and the red-haired man converted his Skimmer back to vehicle mode.

Danny was now back on the right side of the Skimmer when he and his master returned to the real world. He then said, "Hey, how come you don't make the Skimmer fly after Dark Ace?"

"Because then we wouldn't have much of a chase, now would we?" said Aerrow. "Besides, the author is trying to keep this story as true to the movie as possible."

Aerrow and Danny resumed their chase after Dark Ace and Jack as they weaved their way across Times Square. Jack turned his car to the left onto a street while Aerrow followed after him. Going through that street, Jack then turned right into an alleyway and Aerrow once again followed in pursuit. No matter what, the sorcerer would not let Dark Ace get away with the Grimhold.

Aerrow was then forced to stop his Skimmer when he came upon a garbage truck that lifted a dumpster with its mechanical prongs. Danny shouted as the Skimmer was forced to a halt and almost being sent forward.

The dumpster was lifted up to show Dark Ace in the passenger's seat and Jack in the driver's seat of the garbage truck. The two of them set a trap once they converted their vehicle again.

"Hello, Aerrow," said Dark Ace.

Aerrow smirked. Jack, meanwhile, laughed maniacally as he began to lower the dumpster with the intent of crushing his foes.

"Oh, man. Oh, man," Danny said worriedly. "No, no. Back up. Back up. Back up. Back up."

The sorcerer complied with his apprentice and shifted his Skimmer into reverse. Jack brought the dumpster back up and chased after Aerrow.

"Oh, man!" said Danny, thinking they were goners. He then developed his own strategy. "I've got an idea."

Holding onto the front of the co-pilot's seat, Danny held out his ring and made it glow.

Aerrow saw what he was doing and knew his apprentice was about to do the wrong thing. "Danny, don't," he said.

"Please just let me do it." The young man hoped his master would have faith in him.

Danny cast the spell and accidentally made the Skimmer shift into an old yellow car. The boy looked in dread at what he had created.

"What?" he said confusedly.

Aerrow was behind the steering wheel and he gave his apprentice an annoyed look. "A '73 Pinto?" he said. "This is your idea?" The sorcerer did his best to make the Pinto reverse through the street on its old engine.

"No! No!" said Danny. "My idea was to turn _their_ car into a beater."

The engine of the Pinto then stalled, making it stop in the street. Danny's eyes opened wide when he saw the lights of the garbage truck closing in, and then screamed as the truck's front crashed into the car. Jack kept on driving the truck, pushing the Pinto until its rear collided with other cars.

"Finish it," said Dark Ace.

"Right!" said Jack.

The Cyclonian then pushed a lever and lowered the dumpster. The weight of the dumpster, plus the weight of the prongs, crushed the Pinto's roof. Aerrow and Danny were now forced to duck under the car as the windows were shattered. Cujo let out a whine as he along with the two men were now buried under the roof.

Aerrow and Danny looked up to see that they weren't completely crushed as the dumpster finally rested on the Pinto. The sorcerer was just glad he could always repair his car with his magic.

"I think he stopped," said Danny, breathing heavily.

Aerrow opened his door and let it fall to the street. He then got out and saw that Dark Ace and Jack were no longer in the truck. The man looked around frantically for the Cyclonians but only saw a crowd of people gather around upon witnessing a huge collision on the street. Aerrow made his way through the crowd while Danny was busily getting out of the car along with his pet.

"Hold on, Cujo," said the young man. "Hold on, Cujo. I got you, buddy."

The red-haired man searched through the people, thinking that Dark Ace couldn't have gotten far. His theory was correct as he watched the traitor casually walk on the sidewalk like nothing had ever happened. Aerrow steadily zigzagged through the people after Dark Ace, but the Cyclonian already knew what would make him stop in his tracks.

The evil sorcerer watched as a woman named Rukia Kuchiki (_Bleach_) walked up beside him. He then touched her shoulder and quickly cast a spell. Rukia looked behind her as she thought someone touched her. What she did not realize was that now her appearance changed to that of Piper.

Aerrow stopped upon seeing who was coming up to him. He knew that this woman was locked up in the Grimhold, but his heart was telling him that Piper was right in front of his eyes. Seeing her made all his feelings rush back into his mind. This was the one person he deeply cared for and he would do anything to be with her.

Being fooled by the illusion, Aerrow reached out to grab the woman he thought he saw only to be looking at Rukia.

"Hey!" cried the woman.

Aerrow shook his head after he realized he'd been tricked. "I'm sorry," he said. "I thought you were someone else."

Rukia only gave the man an odd stare and walked away, leaving Aerrow to contemplate his thoughts.

Danny made his way past the crowd while carrying Cujo in his arms. Once he got to Aerrow he asked, "Where's Dark Ace? Did he get away?" He only watched his master turn around to see he lost the evil sorcerer. "Where's the Grimhold? Who was that?"

The young man then got the feeling that was the person who was locked away in the doll. "That was her, wasn't it?" he said. "The third apprentice."

The sorcerer only stared off into space while leaving the questions unanswered.

* * *

><p>Aerrow and Danny returned to the lab to recuperate after losing Dark Ace and the Grimhold. The sorcerer then decided to tell his apprentice the whole story. He, along with Danny, sat down on the steps while the man had the Encantus open on his lap.<p>

"For centuries," said Aerrow, "Piper, Dark Ace and I were the only thing standing between Cyclonis and man's destruction." He then turned a page to show of illustration of himself and Piper fighting alongside each other. "Our friendship and our magic were what Piper and I depended on."

Danny nodded after hearing the story. "You fell for her, didn't you?" he said.

Aerrow didn't want to admit it because he always told Danny love was a distraction, but there was no denying his hypocrisy. "I fell for her," he replied.

_The sorcerer then thought back of the time centuries ago when he was with Piper. He remembered her beautiful features as she looked out amongst a crowd of people and he looked out with her._

"Like you," said Aerrow, "all Piper wanted was to be normal; normal things, normal life."

_Piper looked out at a shop and saw a diamond necklace on display. It was so beautiful and she just had to have it. She imagined wearing it as she touched her neck but then felt her choker and the crystal dangling from the middle, which was her sorcerer's ring and reminded her of her servitude to being a sorcerer._

Aerrow let the memory fade. "I fell," he said. "And so did Dark Ace."

Danny's mouth was now agape when he saw that his master and his enemy were part of a bizarre love triangle. He then rested his chin on his hand while he continued hearing Aerrow's story.

"That's why Dark Ace betrayed us," Aerrow continued.

"For a thousand years," said Danny, "you've been carrying her around with you, in the Grimhold."

Aerrow looked down at his hands to see the same diamond necklace that Piper wanted to have and the same necklace he took out from his bag. "I was going to give this to her that night," he said. He stood up from the step while Danny kept the Encantus on his lap.

Feeling sympathetic with the man, Danny said, "I'm sorry." He then made up his mind about what he was going to do. "Okay, Aerrow. We are going to get Piper out and destroy Cyclonis."

Aerrow turned around upon hearing what the young man told him. "What's happened to you?" He thought this boy was done with his destiny.

"Nothing."

"You're still a bad liar."

Danny was annoyed by how Aerrow could always tell that about him. He whispered, "Why does everyone—"

"You know," Aerrow interjected, "I am glad she likes you." He could see Danny smile upon giving his blessing. "No, I am not surprised; only glad. There's nothing like it, is there?"

Danny shook his head as he agreed with Aerrow that there was nothing like it when you fall in love with someone you've always cared about all your life.

The sorcerer gave his apprentice a satisfied look and said, "Put your 'old man shoes' back on. We have some work to do."

* * *

><p>BlueTiger321: Well, it looks like Danny's going to stay as a sorcerer, but now Dark Ace has the Grimhold!<p>

Danny: Not for long!

Dark Ace: That's right. You just keep on believing that.

Aerrow: You wouldn't have it if I chased you down on my Skimmer!

Dark Ace: You mean that pile of junk your boy turned into a beater?

Aerrow: Oh, that's it! Now the gloves are off!

BlueTiger321: Well folks, stay tuned for the next exciting chapter. So, until next time...

Danny: Read and review!


	9. Chapter 8: Hour of Darkness

Chapter 8: Hour of Darkness

BlueTiger321: So now Dark Ace has the Grimhold once again, and our heroes must face him down before it's too late. Who will succeed? Read on and find out for yourselves.

* * *

><p>It was now the next day. Dark Ace and Jack were back in the famous magician's penthouse suite celebrating last night's victory. Now that they had the Grimhold, it would only be a matter of time until Master Cyclonis would be freed and then cast The Rising to enslave every person on the planet.<p>

Jack walked towards a set of closed doors and lifted his hand, opening the doors with his magic. Dark Ace stood inside the room in front of the desk where he placed the doll. Jack was very proud of himself for being able to work with the Cyclonian he always admired ever since he began chanting his first spell, and now unleashing an evil across the world was like a dream come true for him.

"Are all the satellite dishes in position?" said Dark Ace.

"All lined up," replied Jack. He walked over to his fellow sorcerer with an angry look on his face. "I chipped my mani, which is not cool."

"No, I imagine it's not," Dark Ace said apathetically. He turned back to the Grimhold to look at the image of the girl. "Inside there lies our next co-worker: Kanna, a little demon who is a reincarnation of Naraku. Once she's out, we're at the Cyclonis shell. Now that's going to take a lot of time and energy to crack."

Jack felt ecstatic upon hearing about freeing Master Cyclonis. "So, what are we gonna do?" he asked and then went to sit behind the desk.

Dark Ace lightened up at what he was about to do. "Have you heard of the Parasite Spell?" he asked.

The only response from Jack was a slight chuckle as he rested his feet on the desk.

"Sorry, I forgot your education's somewhat lacking," said Dark Ace.

"Yeah, I prefer to go more by instinct," said the albino man. "You know, what feels right."

"Very good." Dark Ace walked around the desk and stared at the painting of Jack on the wall. "Well, the Parasite Spell is a rather nasty piece of business. It originated in Haiti, if memory serves. It enables one sorcerer to steal the energy from another."

Without warning, Dark Ace held out the crystal of his cane to Jack's throat and made it glow. Jack let out a cry in agony as he was betrayed by his fellow sorcerer when the Parasite Spell leeched out all the magical energy from his body. The power was so intense that Jack could do nothing but remain in his seat until his body was a lifeless shell. Dark Ace then snatched the ring off Jack's finger and slid it through his cane.

Smirking, Dark Ace said, "Well, you weren't _really_ using it, were you?"

With his newly-acquired power, Dark Ace turned to the Grimhold and tapped it with his cane. The red crystal, along with the amethyst from Jack's ring, glowed as the spell made a burning circle with fire form around the doll and opened the next layer. Dark Ace already knew who was going to be the next target.

* * *

><p>June was in the recording room at her radio station. She sat peacefully by herself while soft music was playing from the speakers. She then placed a vinyl record back in its case as she was about to leave the building.<p>

Just then, someone walked into the adjacent room and June lifted her head and looked through the window. There she saw a small girl with white hair dressed in a white kimono. What the woman didn't know was that this girl was the Cyclonian sorceress, Kanna.

"Excuse me?" said the young sorceress. "I'd like to make a request."

June leaned down to the controls and pressed a button while she spoke into the intercom. "I just finished my show," she explained. "But maybe next time, okay?"

The woman stacked the pile of records in front of her and turned around her chair. She didn't see the same girl mysteriously appear right in front of her, but this time she carried a mirror in her hands.

"I said I'd like to make a request," said Kanna.

June turned her head up and gasped in surprise upon seeing the girl. The Cyclonian then smirked as her black eyes turned red and her mirror shined in a strange light. Now she had June captive as ordered by her master.

* * *

><p>It was now night time and Aerrow drove his Phantom along with Danny down the street. The sorcerer was glad that his car had been restored after his apprentice accidentally had it mangled last night but he could not dwell on it since they had work to do.<p>

After using the Grimhold tracking spell, they finally pinpointed its location from this building. Aerrow parked the Phantom on the street and looked up at the building. Somewhere in there was the doll and Dark Ace, and he had to get it back before Cyclonis was released.

"All right," said the red-haired man. "When Cyclonis is released, no matter what happens, promise me you'll do whatever it takes to destroy her."

Danny looked at his master with a determined face. After hearing what happened to the man's beloved Piper, he would ensure that she was free. "I promise," he said.

Aerrow nodded. "And for the record, you wear the old guy shoes very well."

"My feet disagree with you, but thank you." Danny could feel this was an awkward moment so he decided to lighten the mood. "Knuckle bump," he said and held up his fist.

Aerrow just looked at the gesture oddly and thought he would feel silly if he did it. Then he realized that it was just a sign of teamwork between him and his apprentice. "Might as well," he said and bumped his fist into Danny's.

The two exited the vehicle and then headed straight for the building.

* * *

><p>Inside Jack's suite, the Grimhold sat before a roaring fire from the fireplace. From the outside was the image of Master Cyclonis on the now smaller doll. Dark Ace only needed the right amount of power to release his master, and fortunately one power source was right there in the room with him.<p>

The evil sorcerer stared down at the doll with Kanna by his side.

"Now that I have kidnapped the girl for you," said Kanna, "is it time to release Master Cyclonis?"

Dark Ace turned to his fellow Cyclonian and replied, "I'll give her your regards."

The man walked up to the girl and forced her to back away. "Mr. Dark Ace, have I done something wrong?" Kanna asked.

A red light flashed in the room as Dark Ace cast the Parasite Spell on Kanna, stealing her energy and making her lifeless body slump to the floor.

"Not at all," replied Dark Ace. "I need your power to free Master Cyclonis. I just don't need you."

The man lifted Kanna's mirror from her hands and then focused on it. Immediately he cast another spell that shrunk the mirror until it was now turned into a sorcerer's ring.

"Well, that's two," said the man. "One more to go."

Dark Ace already knew where he would be able to get the last bit of energy from a sorcerer, and he knew he had the means to acquire it.

* * *

><p>The doors that led into Jack's apartment were closed. But then a blue light made its way between the crevice as a shuffling sound was heard. The door on the left was now opened but it did not swing. Instead the door was lifted off its hinges and levitated into the room.<p>

Aerrow walked in with an outstretched hand while he made his spell move the door. Danny soon followed behind him just as the red-haired man rested the door against the wall.

"That's horrifying," said the apprentice.

"Let's just find the Grimhold and be done with it," said Aerrow.

The two walked into the apartment and split up while Aerrow made the spell put the door back where it belonged.

* * *

><p>The sorcerer walked into a room and saw it was empty except for a desk, a few chairs, some props for a magician's show and an elegant black rug with white flowers on the floor. Looking closely, Aerrow saw a map of New York City on the desk. In one section was a circle in red marker that was then crossed over with blue lines.<p>

Aerrow knew what this meant. "Bowling Green Park," he said. "The Rising."

(A/N: I know that in the movie, Balthazar said Battery Park but it's actually Bowling Green Park.)

The sorcerer walked into the room, hoping this was where the Grimhold was hidden. All of a sudden, the man almost fell down as his feet seemed to shift upon making contact with the middle of the rug. He looked down and saw that he was now sinking into the floor like the rug was made of quicksand. Aerrow now saw this was a trap set up for him and he fell right into it.

"Persian Quickrug," Aerrow said irritatingly. "And he thinks I'm old-fashioned." The sorcerer continued to struggle in an attempt to get out of the magical trap.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Danny walked into another room to begin his own search. He looked around to see the many fancy things scattered around along with the painting of Jack hanging above the fireplace.<p>

"Ostentatious," he said.

The young man soon kept his gaze going around the room until he stopped to see the Grimhold sitting by itself in front of the fireplace while the fire kept burning. Danny only shrugged his shoulders and walked over to the doll, thinking it was pretty easy to find it.

Just before he was about to grab it, he suddenly got the feeling that it was too easy. The boy remembered how Aerrow told him that sorcerers always try to make things look easy for their enemies.

"Ooh... Uh-huh," said Danny, waving his finger and thinking he was too smart to fall for something like this. "This looks like something from _Raiders of the Lost Ark_. Well, I'll be sure not to make the same mistake Indiana Jones made."

The young man flexed his fingers and got ready to make his move. In a lightning fast motion, he grabbed the Grimhold and then placed his hand over the stand to act as a weight. He breathed in and looked around as if expecting something to happen.

A few seconds went by with no trap springing and no magic attacking the boy. Danny said, "Nothing. Nothing."

Danny then got a look at the Grimhold and saw the image of the Cyclonian sorceress on one side.

"So that's Master Cyclonis," said the young man. He then turned the doll around and saw the image of the other person who was locked in the doll. "Piper," he said.

Danny felt sorry for the woman to be locked up with the Cyclonian, but he knew it would all change once he was ready to face his destiny.

* * *

><p>Aerrow continued struggling as he sank deeper into the Persian Quickrug. Knowing full well this trap was meant for him, the worry of his apprentice being helpless against Dark Ace now weighed heavily on his mind. He had to get out and find Danny quickly.<p>

The sorcerer shot out his right hand and cast a spell to bring a curtain over to him. He tugged hard on the fabric but then watched as the force ripped the pole off the wall and made the curtain fall next to him.

* * *

><p>Danny snuck his way out of the room with the Grimhold safely in his hands. Now that he had it, he could find Aerrow and make their escape before Dark Ace appears.<p>

"Aerrow?" the young man whispered.

"That was easy," said another voice.

Danny quickly turned around and froze when he saw Dark Ace. A look of horror came to his face when he saw the man had June held captive in his arms with his cane held close to her face and the crystal glowing right before her. The girl tried to break free but was no match for the evil sorcerer's strength.

"Come on, Danny," said Dark Ace. "You know the drill. Give me what I want and I'll let her go."

Danny shook his head as he saw this was what the Cyclonian had planned all along. Now he was faced with a difficult decision: give Dark Ace the Grimhold, or let June die. The options were so overwhelming that he felt paralyzed. Danny was still no match against Dark Ace and he knew he couldn't fight him.

"Danny, what is going on?" June sobbed.

"It's gonna be okay," replied the boy. "You're gonna be okay."

"No, she's not!" snapped Dark Ace. "She's going to be ground up into chunks and fed to the cat unless you give me Merlin's ring and the Grimhold." He watched the young man turn away and knew what he was trying to do. "Oh, Aerrow? He's busy admiring the décor. So what's it going to be?"

* * *

><p>Aerrow was still sinking fast in the Persian Quickrug and he was running out of time. Looking to his left he saw just what he needed. He directed his hands over to a box with chains held on the top. A spell was cast to lift the lid of the box with the chains still attached.<p>

The sorcerer then looked out to his right and saw an iron maiden wrapped in chains. He cast another spell that made the chain around the device stretch out towards the box, causing the iron maiden to spin.

Aerrow was now almost fully sunk just as the chains from both props were attached to each other. The chain that stretched across the room was then lowered by the centre so the man could grab onto it. Then focusing his spell, he commanded the crank from the box to pull up the chain and pull Aerrow along with it.

* * *

><p>June was still kept in Dark Ace's clutches, tears streaming from her eyes.<p>

Danny saw no other option. He could not let the woman he cared about get hurt, so he willingly took off his ring and held it out in his palm.

Dark Ace saw this was his moment, so he cast a spell to make the ring fly from Danny's hand where it slid onto his cane with the rest of the rings. Now the Cyclonian had the power of four sorcerers.

Danny knew he wasn't done. He held up the Grimhold and said, "Here. Take it."

The evil sorcerer did the same and made the doll fly from Danny's hand where he grabbed it once it came over to him. Dark Ace then released June where she immediately ran to Danny for safety.

"You're okay?" Danny asked in concern.

Dark Ace paid no attention to them as he looked at his cane. "Merlin's ring," he said. "It's been a while since I've been this close to it. I wonder if it still works."

The Cyclonian then backed out of his deal and aimed his cane at Danny and June where he fired a red plasma bolt at them. The two screamed and ran to the side of a wall and out of the plasma bolt's trajectory as it flew past them and destroyed the head of a terracotta warrior.

Dark Ace didn't have time to deal with them any longer: he had the Grimhold so now was the time to carry out his plan. He headed for the exit, knowing there was nothing Danny could do to stop him.

Danny gave June some space once the terror was over. "You all right?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think so," replied the girl.

The Cyclonian only looked back and laughed to himself. Seeing the boy defenceless was hilarious to him but he did not dwell on it. He left to carry out his plan.

At that moment Aerrow stepped into the room after escaping Dark Ace's trap. He was surprised to see June next to the boy but it did not matter to him. Looking at his apprentice with worry, he said, "The Grimhold?"

Danny remained silent while looking away from his master. The red-haired man exhaled in worry as he figured that Dark Ace still had it. Now he knew the traitor was definitely going to release Master Cyclonis.

"I see," said Aerrow.

"He took my ring," said Danny. "He was gonna kill June. I'm so sorry, Aerrow." The young man felt like he let his master down after making his decision.

Aerrow now understood why the girl was here. Feeling sympathetic with the boy he said, "I would've done the same thing, Danny."

Danny nodded his head, but then he brought his hand over his eyes in humiliation, thinking it was still his fault that Dark Ace got away with the doll and his ring. He then saw Aerrow walk towards a door leading to the balcony.

"Where are you going?" asked the boy.

"Bowling Green Park," replied the sorcerer. "Dark Ace's going to release Cyclonis."

Danny and June followed after the man as he opened the door. The boy thought Aerrow was crazy to do this mission on his own.

"Well," said Danny, "you can't take him on _and_ Cyclonis at the same time. That's... You literally can't."

"I have to try." Aerrow then walked over to the ledge.

"Well, then I'm going with you."

"Without any magic?" The sorcerer knew his apprentice would be helpless against a master like Dark Ace, especially since the traitor would use Danny's own powers against him. "He has your ring." Aerrow already made his decision to stop Dark Ace and Cyclonis, and to save the woman he loved. "I'm going alone."

The man then jumped onto the brick ledge, making June exclaim in surprise and thought he was truly crazy for doing a stunt like this.

"No, that's a normal thing for him," Danny said to June.

Aerrow was about to jump off the balcony when he turned around to look at Danny. He thought this might be the last time he'll ever see him, so he decided to give him his last words of wisdom as master to apprentice.

"No one knows how much time they have... to be with the people that are most important," said the sorcerer. "Enjoy it."

The red-haired man then closed his eyes and fell down backwards off the balcony. June stood there gasping with her hands over her mouth to watch the unbelievable feat. A shriek then escaped her lips as she thought the man was dead but then she and Danny walked to the ledge to see Aerrow fly away on a steel eagle.

Danny waved to his master while June stood there bewildered by what she just witnessed. They then walked back into the apartment for safety. Immediately June had a multitude of questions going through her mind about what happened today.

"That guy just flew away on an eagle!" exclaimed the girl.

"I..." said Danny. He tried to think of the right things to say about the man June thought was his uncle.

"A steel eagle," the woman said, still in disbelief.

"June, I wanted to talk to you about this. I just haven't known where to start. I'm just happy you're okay."

The girl took in a deep breath and held both of Danny's hands. "Look, Danny," she said calmly. "If you can just tell me the truth, then I promise I will do my best to understand."

Danny nodded while trying his best to explain the situation. "Okay," he said. "The first thing you should know about me is that I'm a sorcerer."

June gave a nod back. She promised she would try to understand so she let the young man continue. "Okay," she said.

The boy then said, "I can conjure and shoot plasma bolts out of my hand. I can speed time up, slow it down, varying degrees of levitation. It's all very magical."

"And I thought my last boyfriend was different 'cause he wore a scarf," said June.

Danny gave a short chuckle. But now he had to worry about saving his master.

* * *

><p>Back in Danny's apartment, his friend and roommate Tucker was enjoying a romantic evening with his girlfriend Valerie Gray. The two of them were lying on the floor in front of each other while candles were burning and soft music was playing to add to the ambience.<p>

Just then, the mood was interrupted when a ringing sound was heard. Tucker already knew that it was coming from his cell phone and he also knew who was calling from recognizing the ringtone. This made him rather irritated.

Valerie thought it was something important so she got up and said, "Baby, I'll just come back. Okay?"

"Okay," replied Tucker.

"I'll see you in a minute."

"Okay. All right. I'm here."

Valerie walked away while Tucker continued to laugh. His then looked exasperated when he knew Danny was interrupting his date. Answering the phone he said, "Bad time, Danny."

Danny was driving the Phantom along June in the passenger's seat. "Tucker," he said. "Thank God you answered. I got a real emergency on my hands. I need you to meet me at my lab right now!"

Tucker only gave an aggravated sigh as he knew he would do anything for his friend if he was in trouble. He hung up his phone and sighed, knowing that his date with his girlfriend would have to be cut short.

Back in the car, Danny turned to the girl and said, "June, I gotta let you out." He then pulled the Phantom over to the side.

"What? Let me out?" said June. She decided not to argue. "Okay."

"I think I know how to defeat them without any magic," said Danny. If he didn't have magic, then he always had science.

"How?"

"The rings on Dark Ace's cane. He put them there to gain more power, but they make him a better conductor."

"Danny, I have no idea what you're talking about."

The boy thought about how best to explain what's going to happen. "All right, Juniper, here it is," he said. "Many evil sorcerers will be raised from the dead tonight. So, basically, Cyclonis is trying to destroy the world as we know it."

"Oh, just that." To June, the whole concept seemed completely illogical.

"This is really dangerous," Danny warned. "I can't bring you into it."

"Well, I think I'm already into it. And besides, if you blow it, we're all gonna die anyway, right?" June then looked at the young man with concerned eyes. "I wanna come with you."

Danny knew he couldn't argue against June's wish, and he remembered what Aerrow told him about being with someone the most important to him.

Making up his mind, Danny put the car into drive and said, "You're sexy."

* * *

><p>Danny and June were now outside the boy's lab. An assortment of crates with wires hanging out of them was stacked on the asphalt. The young man knew he would be able to apply his physics skills and use them to stop Dark Ace, but time was of the essence so the boy would have to work doubly hard to help his master.<p>

Tucker came out of the lab while carrying a crate. "I got all the Tesla coil remotes," he said, coming over to Danny and June.

"Thanks, brother," said Danny. "I appreciate it."

Tucker then thought of something. Reaching into his pocket he said, "Oh! I found this after we hung up." He handed the object to Danny and then brought up a note. "It was on the desk."

Danny looked at the note first. "Danny, give this to Piper. Aerrow," he read.

All three of them were perplexed by why the note was left for Danny, but then the young man looked down and saw a small red bag tied by a knot. Danny untied the bag and reached into it to pull out a diamond necklace, the same necklace Aerrow showed to him the other night. Then he realized what his master was going to do.

"I don't think Aerrow's planning on coming back," he said worriedly.

"I don't know what you're into here, Danny," said Tucker, "but whatever it is, you are definitely participating!"

Danny chuckled at the comment given to him by his friend. "Thank you, Tucker," he said. "I appreciate that. We should go."

* * *

><p>Danny and June drove down the streets of New York with a Tesla coil attached to the front of the Phantom. The young man had to hurry because he knew that Aerrow was about to make the ultimate sacrifice.<p>

* * *

><p>BlueTiger321: Oh no! Dark Ace is about to release Master Cyclonis, Danny's got no magic, and Aerrow is going to face them all on his own! Could this be the end?<p>

Danny: Please don't let it be the end!

June: We don't want Aerrow to die!

Aerrow: Hey! You two should let a man face his destiny!

Dark Ace: Yes, even if it means you're all going to die anyway!

June: Don't count on it, butt head! *kicks Dark Ace in the shin*

Dark Ace: Ow! Why does she always have to do that?

BlueTiger321: Well folks, stay tuned for the next chapter, because it's going to be the final battle. And for those of you wondering, Kanna is a character from _InuYasha_. So, until next time...

Aerrow, Danny and June: Read and review!


	10. Chapter 9: The Rising

Chapter 9: The Rising

BlueTiger321: All right, folks! So now it's time for the final battle! Can Aerrow stop Dark Ace and Cyclonis _and_ rescue Piper all on his own, will Danny fulfill the prophecy, or will Cyclonis enslave humanity? To answer that, you know that you'll have to read this epic chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Dark Ace was now in Bowling Green Park, walking slowly up to the fountain in the centre with the Grimhold in his arms. This would finally be it for him. His master would be freed and they would finish what they intended to do over a thousand years ago, and not even the Prime Merlinean was able to stop them.<p>

The Cyclonian made the fountain stop with a spell upon getting closer to the fountain. He carefully set down the doll and said, "Now is The Rising. Now is the time."

The crystal on Dark Ace's cane glowed along with the added power from all the sorcerer's rings he acquired. A wave of red energy was steadily released from the crystal that headed straight for the Grimhold. The combined power slowly made the doll pulse until finally it popped open and release a tar-like substance.

Dark Ace halted the spell and watched the gelatinous form rise up and shape into a person. It was truly a horrifying sight as malicious faces darted out from the gooey substance along with snakes slithering around the upper portion. It finally stopped when the tar melted away to reveal the body of the one trapped in the last layer of the doll, Piper, with her arms outstretched and her eyes closed.

Upon seeing the woman, Dark Ace was awestruck. There was the woman he always desired but could not have since she had already chosen her love. "Piper," he said.

The woman opened up her eyelids to reveal they were not the soft yellow ones Piper had but instead the deep purple of another. She then spoke in a different voice, the voice of the one trapped in Piper's body. "It's me, Dark Ace," she said. "Cyclonis."

Dark Ace felt his heart shatter upon hearing that voice, knowing that his master had taken over Piper's body and was in complete control, which would possibly mean that Piper was gone forever.

"No need to look so pathetic," said Cyclonis. Her gaze was then brought to the Grimhold and she looked absolutely repulsed by it. "Destroy that thing. I never want to see it again."

Dark Ace picked up the Grimhold's two halves and took them away from his master.

"I cannot raise the dead until the circle is complete," said the sorceress.

The man nodded his head in understanding and waited patiently for his master to begin the spell. Master Cyclonis then spread out her hands as she began chanting in an ancient language.

Meanwhile, Aerrow slowly walked around the gate surrounding the park. His eyes went wide when he saw Piper standing before Dark Ace, but he knew that it was really Master Cyclonis since he recognized the voice and saw her chanting the spell for The Rising. He had to stop her and save his love no matter what.

Cyclonis finished chanting the first part of the spell as a flame erupted from a side of the fountain. Magical energy then shot into the sky that bounced off the satellite dishes and made bright orange lines between the buildings.

* * *

><p>Elsewhere, Danny looked out from the Phantom as he was driving and saw the lines forming in the sky. From what he could gather, he figured that The Rising had already begun, which meant that Cyclonis was finally free.<p>

The young man said, "No way. Man alive!"

June looked out from the passenger's seat and said, "What?" She couldn't understand why Danny was panicking.

Danny pointed towards the windshield and said, "Are you telling me you honestly don't see that?"

The girl looked out at where Danny was pointing and saw nothing out of the ordinary. "No," she replied. "See what?"

"I think they're using the satellite dishes on the tops of the buildings to direct and amplify the electromagnetic energy," explained Danny.

As they drove along the street, the same energy ball bounced off a satellite dish and made another line in the sky.

"All right, we're pulling over," said Danny. "We're pulling over."

The Phantom was stopped on the side of the street where a building had another satellite dish that created another line in the sky when the energy bounced off it. The young man stared at the girl, hoping that he would depend on her to help in any way.

"June, I need you to do me a favour," asked Danny. "I need you to go up to the very top of that thing."

June felt completely terrified at the mention of going up to the top of a building since she was afraid of heights. But she knew that the fate of the world rested on their shoulders, so without thinking she replied, "Great."

"You gotta move that antenna and just disrupt the signal." Danny felt bad about placing this burden on the girl—even knowing her fear—but he had no other choice since he had to go help Aerrow.

"Okay," said June, psyching herself up. "Right."

The woman exited the vehicle, but then the boy thought of something he had to know before she left. "Hey, June," he called.

June stopped and turned around to hear what he had to say.

"Do you remember that letter I wrote when we were ten years old: friend or girlfriend?" asked Danny. "I never saw what you checked, so... in case I die tonight, could you please tell me?"

June thought way back to that point when she saw that letter. She did remember what she checked. It was the choice she made about this boy a long time ago, and she desperately wanted to reveal to Danny her choice. But then, she had to make this boy promise her something in return.

"Don't die and I'll tell you," said the girl. She then closed the door of the car and walked towards the building.

Danny's eyes went into frustration. He wanted to hear her answer and now she was just playing with him. "Oh, yeah, okay," he said and drove off.

* * *

><p>Back in Bowling Green, Aerrow had pulled out a steel rod from his armour while Master Cyclonis was still chanting. A plan was already forming in his head about how to secretly enter without detection so he could stop The Rising.<p>

The sorcerer threw the rod into the park where it rolled along the grass. Creating a quick spell, Aerrow made the rod open that made a net stretch out and change into a mirror.

The second part of Cyclonis's spell was finished, and another flame burst from another corner of the fountain, sending up an orange ball of energy into the sky that bounced across the satellite dishes. It looked as though a pentagram was going to be created from all the orange lines.

While Cyclonis was distracted, Aerrow leapt over the gate and headed straight for the mirror. He could see in the distance that Dark Ace was already preparing to destroy the Grimhold, but he had to get it in order to save the woman he loved.

Dark Ace stood over a puddle of water by the fountain. He waved around his cane and created a ring of fire on the water's surface. His intention was to destroy the doll so that it could never be used to imprison any Cyclonian ever again.

Aerrow ran over to the mirror and created the Hungarian Mirror Trap so he could disappear into the ground and reappear without being detected.

Before Dark Ace was about to throw the Grimhold into the fire, he stopped when he thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Looking out across the park revealed nothing. So then Dark Ace returned to the flame to continue his task.

Aerrow stuck his head out from the mirror just in time to see his former friend throw the doll into the fire. The Grimhold then levitated just over the flame, and the Cyclonian knew who was responsible.

"Aerrow," Dark Ace said darkly.

The Grimhold flew away from Dark Ace and landed in the hands of Aerrow. The Cyclonian turned around and gave the red-haired man a furious look. He then fired a plasma bolt from his cane that missed Aerrow but destroyed the mirror he created.

Aerrow was shocked as he felt the power from the spell, knowing it was from all the additional power Dark Ace gained. He knew the traitor wasn't going to hold back and would protect Master Cyclonis until the spell was finished.

"Enough of your old tricks, Aerrow," said Dark Ace.

"As you wish," replied Aerrow.

The red-haired man brought his hand behind his back and then brought it out to fire a plasma bolt. But then he watched Dark Ace lift his cane to keep the plasma bolt from leaving his palm. Aerrow was left stunned to see so much power to keep one spell from being cast.

Cyclonis then finished another part of the spell, making another flame erupt to fire another ball of energy into the sky. The magic was redirected upon hitting the satellite dishes and created the pentagram along with a few archaic symbols. The Rising was now nearing completion.

Dark Ace smirked as he stood off the fountain and walked toward his former friend. "Time was," he said, "things were pretty even between us, Aerrow."

Aerrow struggled as he tried to fire the plasma bolt from his hand, but it was still frozen in place by Dark Ace's heightened magic.

"As you can see," the Cyclonian continued, lifting his cane to reveal all the rings, "I've acquired some new jewellery."

The traitor then swung his cane like a baseball bat and released a wave of energy that knocked Aerrow away, making him roll down to the gate where he grabbed onto the steel bars.

* * *

><p>Danny continued driving down the street towards Bowling Green Park in the hopes of making it in time to help his master.<p>

"I'm coming, buddy," he said. "I'm coming. I'm coming."

The young man thought traffic was fairly good and he would make it there quickly. It all changed when he was forced to slow down upon seeing what was up ahead.

"All right, what..." he said. "What is this? What am I looking at? No!"

Danny stopped the car when he saw a taxi stopped in the middle of the street. The cab driver was helping an old woman named Hama (_Avatar_) out onto the street. Danny was now exasperated upon seeing this, thinking it was delaying his endeavour. He was now even more frustrated when a walker was taken out of the taxi.

"And a walker," Danny said in an aggravated tone. "Of course she has a..."

The young man slapped his hand over his eyes. It was now going to take some time until he reached Aerrow.

* * *

><p>June had finally reached the rooftop of the building. A feeling of anxiety washed over her as she was about to do what Danny asked her to do. Her fear of heights was now in full force around her, but she had to overcome it for the sake of Danny and every innocent person in the world.<p>

"Okay," said the girl.

She then looked up and saw the satellite dish at the top of a steel tower. June thought she wouldn't have to do any more climbing but she saw that she was wrong.

"Oh boy," she said worriedly. It looked like she would truly have to overcome her fear now.

* * *

><p>Dark Ace slowly walked up to Aerrow with the idea of finally getting rid of him already forming in his head.<p>

"A matador gored by a bull can take up to three days to die," said the Cyclonian.

Aerrow slowly breathed while lying on the sidewalk recovering from the blast of energy. Behind him was the _Charging Bull_ statue standing by itself.

"Sounds unpleasant, doesn't it?" said Dark Ace.

Aerrow knew what he was talking about and immediately turned around to see the statue come to life. The bull looked absolutely furious when it turned its head and gave a low groan. Its bronze hooves made clacking noises as it walked up to Aerrow.

The red-haired man felt like his heart was beating a mile a minute upon seeing the statue come toward him. He watched the bull charge its head, making its horns scrape against the sidewalk. Aerrow rolled out of the way just before the bull rammed into the gate and bent the steel bars.

The sorcerer quickly ran off to the side, but the bull got back on its feet and resumed its chase after Aerrow. Thinking fast, Aerrow ran around a mini-van and hid behind it. A short while later the van shook as the bull rammed into its side.

Aerrow looked up through the window to see the statue groan while beating its hoof against the sidewalk. He knew it was getting ready to strike again, so he ran out of the way just before the bull lifted the mini-van with its horns, sending glass to shatter along the asphalt.

The man breathed heavily as his back rested against a Volkswagen Beetle. The bull turned to its right after it destroyed the van and saw its target again, so it charged after Aerrow who rolled out of the way. The statue this time got its horns stuck in the vehicle and furiously tried to free itself.

Dark Ace smirked, taking delight in Aerrow's misery. He held up his cane and sent a newspaper stand after his former friend. The red-haired man didn't see the object coming his way and tripped over it to fall on the sidewalk hard.

* * *

><p>June steadily climbed her way up the steel tower to alter the satellite dish. Even though she was protected on each side from the bars and had a slim chance of falling, she couldn't help but feel her fear taking hold of her. But she had to persevere; there was too much on the line for her to back down now.<p>

Climbing up, she looked down and then felt dizzy and grabbed onto the bars for support and letting one leg slip out. She finally reached the satellite dish and kicked it to destroy the spell.

* * *

><p>Master Cyclonis already had four flames around the fountain, which meant The Rising was almost complete. All she needed to do was chant the last few words and every dead Cyclonian in the world would be resurrected.<p>

Dark Ace could feel the power coming from his master. "The circle is nearly complete," he said, approaching his downed opponent. "It must be awful, Aerrow. All these years, fighting to stop this one moment and then coming up short."

At that moment, Master Cyclonis chanted the last words of the spell and released the final ball of energy. It flew through the sky and bounced off the satellite dishes to complete the giant pentagram. Black smoke and lightning then appeared from the archaic symbol that rushed upward and spread across the globe. The smoke even landed in a cemetery in New York where Cyclonians happened to be buried.

* * *

><p>Near the Great Wall of China, the smoke flew into the grave of a Cyclonian named Zhao (<em>Avatar<em>) where the body rose out of the ground.

The smoke also flew into El Giza, Egypt where it struck a giant statue sitting before the Pyramids to bring a Cyclonian named Scarab (_Mummies Alive!_) back to life. A giant hand smashed through the sandstone once the smoke drew near.

* * *

><p>The bull had now lifted the Beetle out of its way. Aerrow turned back to see the statue utter an angry groan at him, and he knew there was no way to fight it since it was powered by Dark Ace's heightened magic. It looked like it was the end for him.<p>

Just then, Aerrow could hear the sound of a car coming closer. The sound of the engine was so familiar to him that he knew it could only come from one vehicle.

"That's my car," said the red-haired man.

Dark Ace looked down at him, wondering what his former friend was saying.

The Phantom then rolled into the park with Danny behind the steering wheel. Dark Ace could see the Prime Merlinean was here to try and stop him but he knew that with no magic he was helpless. The Cyclonian raised his cane and made the red crystal glow.

Danny slowed the car down and then pressed a button on a remote. A bolt of electricity then shot out of the Tesla coil attached to the front that went straight for the cane. Dark Ace shouted in pain as the power surged through his arm when the bolt was attracted to all the rings on his cane. The force then made the evil sorcerer lose his grip as the cane was thrown away from him.

With no sorcerer's ring Dark Ace was now defenceless, and he quickly turned around to see Aerrow direct his hand out and shoot a blast of energy. The spell knocked Dark Ace to the ground near the fence where his metal headpiece was knocked off and rested on the sidewalk.

Aerrow looked around to see the bull was already charging towards him. He closed his eyes and waited for the attack to come since he had no time to cast a spell.

All of a sudden, the bull was lifted away as the steel eagle flew down and grabbed the statue with its talons. The bull groaned while it was whisked away from the metal bird.

"Whoa!" Danny exclaimed after watching the spectacle.

Aerrow turned up and looked at the eagle. "Thank you!" he called.

* * *

><p>A portion of the smoke eventually made it all the way to the Vatican in Rome where it entered the building and went down to a secret chamber that was full of skulls. The smoke then entered the skull of a Cyclonian named Rodrigo Borgia (<em>Assassin's Creed II <em>and _Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood_).

The Cyclonian could feel life returning to him as his head was regaining its flesh and starting to grow hair. He then began to crawl his way out past the other corpses where he would cause suffering to mankind.

* * *

><p>Aerrow and Danny quickly ran into the park to try and stop Cyclonis.<p>

"We're too late," Danny said worriedly.

Master Cyclonis only smiled down at the foolish men, thinking it was now futile since the spell was almost complete. Soon, she thought, she would enslave the world and everyone would bow down to her.

* * *

><p>June then applied all her might to her foot and furiously kicked the satellite dish. The force was enough to make the dish move. This, in turn, disrupted the energy of the spell and made the pentagram dissipate.<p>

All across the world, the bodies of the Cyclonians that were being brought back to life were now destroyed when the spell was no longer in effect. The magic made each of them explode once it was distorted.

Master Cyclonis watched in dismay to see her spell fade away into nothing. All her ambitions soon died with it. The energy surrounding her was then sent back where it exploded in a burst of light, forcing Aerrow and Danny to shield themselves with their arms.

The energy faded and the two men saw the woman's unconscious body lying on the fountain.

"Piper," Aerrow said sternly.

The man ran over to the fountain with his plan set in his mind. Danny followed after him but stopped before approaching him. He knew that freeing Piper was only something Aerrow was meant to do, so all he could do was watch patiently.

Out of concern, Danny asked, "Is she...?"

Aerrow lifted Piper's head. Now was the time for him to save his love the only way he could do at this point. He felt her neck and could feel two pulses.

"They're both still with us," replied the man.

Danny watched Aerrow as he gently touched Piper's forehead and made his ring glow. The man then touched his own forehead along with Piper's in a continuous motion while he concentrated on a spell. Ethereal energy was then spread out from the woman's eyes and mouth that went straight into Aerrow. The sorcerer knew this was dangerous but it was the only way to save the woman he loved.

Before the spell was done, Danny watched the man kiss the woman on her lips. He thought it must have felt good for his master to finally do it after being away from his love for so long.

Aerrow gasped once the energy entered his own body. His love was safe, and now he hoped his apprentice would do what he asked. The face of Master Cyclonis yelled as she was absorbed into another host.

At that moment, Piper finally regained control of her body. Her yellow eyes opened up once her soul was free. A look of fear soon came to her face when she saw Aerrow was struggling as Cyclonis was trying to take control. The woman knew this was the same thing she did to save the man she loved and she couldn't believe he would sacrifice himself to save her.

"Aerrow," said Piper, "what have you done?"

"What you did for me," replied the man.

The red-haired man stood up and clutched his side in pain. It wouldn't be long before Cyclonis took control so he had to act fast. He turned to his apprentice and threw to him the Grimhold.

"Remember your promise," said Aerrow.

"Aerrow, no," pleaded Piper.

"You'll do whatever it takes to destroy Cyclonis."

Danny did remember his promise, but he never suspected that this was what Aerrow had in mind to stop Cyclonis. "No," he protested. "No, I can't. I won't lock you in this thing."

"Neither will I," added Piper.

Aerrow's body then turned around to face Piper. His eyes then changed purple while giving a malicious smile. His lips moved but came out in Cyclonis's voice as she said, "How sweet."

Piper gasped, seeing her love was now being controlled by Master Cyclonis.

The evil sorceress groaned and knelt to the ground where her spirit flew out of Aerrow's body. Once it was done, Aerrow slumped to the ground while Danny and Piper rushed over to him.

"Oh, man," Danny said in a panic.

The spirit of Master Cyclonis was now free and formed over the fountain in front of the group. Aerrow regained consciousness, unaware that the sorceress already had fire forming in her hands.

"And now we end this," said Cyclonis.

"No!" shouted Aerrow.

The flames were shot from Cyclonis's hands. Danny could see the attack coming and he tried to think of everything his master taught him. Soon, two white rings formed from his abdomen that respectively went up and down his body. As the rings past over the boy's body, his appearance began to change. His hair now turned ghostly white while his eyes changed to green like the emerald on Merlin's ring. His clothes were now replaced with a black suit with white gloves and boots, a white belt and a white collar around his neck. A white D was also emblazoned on his chest.

Danny brought his hands together and created the Vacuum Sphere spell that sucked in the flames. Both Aerrow and Piper watched in amazement to see the young man cast a spell without his ring, and they both knew what he had become. Danny looked and saw he was casting a spell as well, knowing he finally fulfilled the prophecy.

"No way," said Danny. As the flames continued shooting out, Danny turned to his master and said, "No ring."

Aerrow smiled and said, "It is you."

"The Prime Merlinean!" said Cyclonis. She couldn't believe that the prophecy actually came true.

Master Cyclonis stopped shooting the flames and Danny also dropped his own spell. But the evil sorceress wasn't going to be stopped by a mere boy, especially after her plans for world conquest were ruined. She then brought her hands together to create a plasma bolt that was uniquely coloured violet.

"Fools!" shouted Cyclonis.

The plasma bolts were shot, but Danny brought up his arms to create a magical green shield that protected him. Aerrow cried in pain as he created a blue shield that barely protected him, but Piper lurched forward as her own shield was the weakest and she took a plasma bolt in her chest.

"Piper!" cried Aerrow.

Another plasma bolt was coming straight towards Piper, and Aerrow jumped in front of her to take the blast. The man was knocked away as the attack struck his heart and made him lie motionless near the steps. Piper cried out when she saw her love get hurt.

Danny looked back with a saddened look. His sadness soon turned to rage when he turned back to face Cyclonis. Now he was going to make her suffer for what she did to his master. The sorceress made energy form into her hands as she prepared another spell.

"Now it's my turn," said Danny.

The boy spread out his hands to create plasma while Piper ran to Aerrow to help him. The woman leaned down and sobbed as she watched her love still motionless after saving her.

Danny then fired a plasma bolt, but Cyclonis only stood to the side and watched the attack hit a power box next to a shed.

"Is that the best that you can do?" said the sorceress.

The plasma surged around the shed until it went inside. Danny shook his head as he planned for this to happen. "I sure hope not," he said.

The Prime Merlinean once again formed plasma in his hands and shot it at the evil sorceress. Master Cyclonis truly thought this boy was foolish as she made her ethereal body form a hole to let the plasma bolt fly through her.

Danny then shot two more plasma bolts, but they also passed right through Cyclonis when she made two holes in her body. Another plasma bolt was fired from Danny, aimed right at Cyclonis's head. The sorceress only smirked and made her head split to let the useless attack pass by her.

The young man looked worriedly, hoping to lead Cyclonis on so she would not suspect his real plan. The sorceress brought the two halves of her head back together. She was done playing with the boy and now she would destroy him.

"And now it's my turn," said Cyclonis.

The woman fired a plasma bolt. Thinking quickly, Danny put up a shield in time to protect himself. More plasma bolts were fired from Cyclonis, and Danny put up the shield. But each attack was getting stronger and slowly made the shield deteriorate with every blow. Danny hoped his plan was going to work, or else he would have no other way to defend himself.

The door to the shed soon opened and power cables came out slithering along the ground like snakes finding their prey. They had been brought to life by the spell that Danny intentionally fired and they slowly approached the fountain while Cyclonis was distracted.

Master Cyclonis continued her assault and Danny kept up his defence as the shield was beginning to break down. Meanwhile, the power cables slowly crept under a park bench and headed for the fountain. Soon it would be time for Danny's plan to take effect.

Danny groaned as the force from the plasma bolts battered against his shield. He was forced to crouch down to protect himself as it got smaller.

Turning up his head, Danny said, "Come on." He was focusing hard on his spell and hoped it would act soon.

The power cables finally made their way over to the street lamps where they wrapped around the poles and crawled up to the lights.

Master Cyclonis kept firing plasma bolts at the boy while his shield kept getting smaller.

"Climb," grunted Danny, still focusing on the spell.

Eventually, the shield was finally destroyed and left Danny defenceless.

"You have Merlin's powers," said Cyclonis, "but you don't have his strength or his skill. You are still weak!"

Danny turned up his head and gave the sorceress a determined glare. "But I'm not alone," he said. "I brought a little science with me."

Master Cyclonis was taken aback by the remark. She couldn't understand what the boy meant.

All of a sudden, Danny shouted, "Now!"

Back in the shed, a mop came to life and used its strings to pull a lever connected to the power box. Immediately, all the power cables around the lamps shot bolts of electricity at Cyclonis. The evil sorceress shouted in pain as she was hit by the bolts while standing in the water. She then felt her magical energy fading from her body. So much energy was being concentrated on Cyclonis that nearly every light in the city was shut off. New York City was now in a blackout, except for Bowling Green Park.

Danny smirked, remembering this was what Aerrow taught him about how a sorcerer loses his power. He then shot out a bolt of lightning from his hands at Cyclonis, and she was helpless against it.

The sorceress looked in terror at the boy as he got closer. Danny then made the spell dissipate and made every light in the city turn back on. He then brought his hands together and fired a wave of plasma bolts. The attacks began to break down Cyclonis's spirit.

Master Cyclonis screamed until her head remained on the fountain, and Danny fired a plasma bolt that destroyed her.

* * *

><p>BlueTiger321: Hurray! Master Cyclonis is dead! But what about Aerrow?<p>

Piper: Please don't let him die!

Danny: No! This can't be happening!

Aerrow: Hey, don't worry, you guys. There's still the epilogue to come.

BlueTiger321: Right. So, anyway folks, be sure to read the ending where everything comes together. Until next time...

June: Read and review!


	11. Epilogue: The Prime Merlinean

Epilogue: The Prime Merlinean

BlueTiger321: Okay, folks. It really pains me to say this, but I must bring this story to a close. It's too bad because I really enjoyed writing it. Oh well. I hope you all like it because it wraps up everything nicely. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>Danny couldn't believe his eyes as he stood before the fountain. He had finally attained the status as the Prime Merlinean and he fulfilled the ancient prophecy. Master Cyclonis was destroyed by his hand and he saved humanity from destruction.<p>

"I did it," he cried out. The young man turned around and hoped his master was awake to see him win. "Aerrow, I actually did it!"

A frown came to Danny's face when he saw the man was still lying motionless near the steps. Piper leaned down with saddened eyes, knowing that her love would not awaken. The woman then looked up at Danny, proud for what he did but still feeling wounded over the loss of the man she loved.

"He's gone," Piper said sadly, a tear rolling down her cheek.

Danny shook his head in disbelief. He knew that his master had a spell placed on him to stop aging, but he never knew that the spell did not make the man immortal. The attack from Cyclonis, he thought, must have delivered the final blow, and now he would no longer awaken.

"He completed his quest," said Piper.

"No, no, no, no," said Danny. "It's not over. He can't die. I just... Not now." He refused to accept that his master would leave him after everything they had been through up to this point.

Piper only looked back down at Aerrow. She didn't want to believe this either, but she had no other choice. Sorcerers could do many impossible things, but sometimes even death was inescapable for them.

"Come on," cried Danny.

The boy sat down on the steps and watched Piper touch the man's face lovingly. It seemed like all was lost. The Prime Merlinean attained a great victory but, in doing so, lost a comrade and a friend.

But then, Danny's face showed a determined look as he rose and shook his head. He was the Prime Merlinean, so if anyone could defy logic, it was him.

"That's not good enough," said the young man. He walked over with his idea set to bring back his master. "Piper, would you please step back? If Cyclonis can stop his heart, maybe I can start it."

Piper stood up and took a step back as requested by the boy. She watched as Danny shot his hands in the air and shouted to create a circle of crimson flames appear around him and Aerrow's body. Now he was going to try and bring him back to life.

"All right, here we go, bud," said Danny, hoping his master could hear him. "Here we go. Listen." He then leaned down and placed his hand over Aerrow's heart. "You... You with all your stupid rules!" The boy beat his hands over the man's chest with electromagnetic energy pulsing in an attempt to jumpstart his master's heart. "And all those old man shoes." He tried again. "And your constantly saving me with that look in your eyes."

Danny was now beginning to sob as he saw his attempts were failing. "Come on! Come on!" he shouted, trying to get the man's heart to beat.

The young man let out an exasperated sigh and balled his hand into a fist. He saw that his attempts to revive Aerrow were useless and so he would have to accept that his master was gone.

Piper only gave him a worried look. She knew it was useless to try and believe that there was any hope.

Just then, the red-haired man opened his eyes and said, "I had a dream."

Danny turned his head up. He recognized that voice, the same voice that taught him every lesson in sorcery. The young man turned his gaze to see Aerrow was alive. Piper looked and smiled happily to see her love awaken.

"You were insulting me, Danny," said Aerrow. "Repeatedly."

"Me?" said Danny innocently. "That's pretty weird, huh?"

"No, kind of makes sense."

"Yeah."

Danny then grabbed Aerrow's hand and placed within it the diamond necklace meant for Piper. Seeing it, Aerrow was grateful for reviving him to be rejoined with his love.

"Thank you," said Aerrow.

"Welcome back, old man," said Danny.

Piper walked into the flaming circle. "You're here," she said, kneeling down to Aerrow.

The man stood up while Danny walked away to give them privacy. Once up, Aerrow leaned in and kissed Piper on her lips. Now they would always be together since their mission from Merlin was complete. They broke apart, and Aerrow brought up the necklace and wrapped it around Piper's neck as a sign of their love.

Danny walked to the outside of the park to see Dark Ace's metal headpiece lying on the sidewalk. He picked it up and saw the Cyclonian was missing, which meant that he would be back. But Danny knew he would be ready for him.

June then came running into the park. "Danny!" she cried.

Danny turned around and there he saw his love. He rested the headpiece on the gate and walked over to the girl. They both embraced each other in a large hug, happy that they each knew the other was safe.

"You did it!" said Danny.

"I know," replied June. "And I'm still alive."

"And, surprisingly, so am I."

"I know." A thought then came to June, remembering the promise she made to the boy. "Oh, the note, right. Friend or girlfriend?"

Danny already made up his mind about that. "I don't care," he said.

The young man leaned in and kissed the girl on her lips. June then kissed back as the two of them expressed their true feelings for each other.

When the two of them broke away, June decided to tell Danny anyway. "Girlfriend; definitely girlfriend," she said.

Danny laughed and kissed June again, remembering the song that brought them together.

The boy broke off and asked, "Would you like to have breakfast with me, in France?"

"France?" said June. The thought of that seemed romantic to her.

The steel eagle then landed from the sky next to the couple. June was shocked at first but then laughed as she knew this was something Danny did with his magic.

"Yeah, I got us a ride," explained Danny.

"Okay, you're fun," said June.

The two kissed once more before getting on the eagle where it flew off into the sky. Danny felt like he was truly blessed: becoming a powerful sorcerer, having the girl of his dreams, and gaining a good friend like Aerrow.

"June, there's something I forgot to mention to you," said Danny while flying the eagle. "I really have no idea how to land this thing."

June only laughed as they flew through the sky, hoping that Danny was only joking.

* * *

><p>A few weeks later in Aerrow's new shop, everything was tranquil. An assortment of different objects were sitting by themselves with the most noticeable one being a blue hat covered with a pattern of golden stars and moon in a glass case.<p>

Sitting right next to a golden box with a human skull lying on top was Dark Ace's metal headpiece. The sorcerer took it as a trophy to remind him of his former apprentice's victory over Master Cyclonis.

Just then, a hand reached out and claimed the headpiece. The Cyclonian then left the shop, knowing there would be a time when he would have his revenge against his former friend and the Prime Merlinean.

**TO BE CONTINUED...?**

* * *

><p>BlueTiger321: Wow! Wasn't that a great story?<p>

Danny: It sure was, because I got to be with June!

Aerrow: And I got to be with Piper!

June and Piper: *laughs* Oh, you guys.

Dark Ace: Enjoy it while it lasts, 'cause I'll be back! *laughs maniacally*

BlueTiger321: I hope so, because that ending just spells sequel. Anyway folks, thank you all for reading my story and especially thank you to those of you who left comments, and I hope you'll all eagerly await what I have in store for my next story. So, until next time...

Everyone: Read and review!


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